


Scars

by wwheeljack



Series: Scars Universe [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, No shipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-31 03:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 194,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8561059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wwheeljack/pseuds/wwheeljack
Summary: Breakdown returns to the Nemesis after escaping from MECH. Breakdown questions the motives of higher-ups in the Decepticon fold, and his loyalty to the Decepticons, as a growing sense of disconnect to the 'Con cause begins to fester in his spark. ORBreakdown joins the Autobots and his adventures with his former enemies.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This story is posted on my main FanFiction, but I decided to post it here since I got this account. I figured I might as well post it here. I have 26 chapters already posted over there.
> 
> Breakdown is my favorite Decepticon from Transformers: Prime and I have never been able to get over what kind of travesty his character went through in the show. I wrote this to change what they did to my favorite character, at least how I would have liked to seen Breakdown's story arc go - beside becoming Silas' life support. *eye twitch* 
> 
> i'll be working on getting the rest of the chapters up here, but it'll be a bit.

 

 

_"You will repay your debt to me, Breakdown... the day it comes time to choose sides…_

_"Between 'Bots and 'Cons?"_

_"Between myself – and Megatron."_

Starscream's words echoed in Breakdown's mind as the gray seeker's jet form vanished into the night sky, leaving Breakdown all alone. As the roar of Starscream's engine faded out, a wave of nervousness washed over Breakdown, his remaining optic snapping to the terrain surrounding him, searching for anything even remotely out of place in the darkness.

Without the benefit of having two optics, Breakdown could feel the thrall of paranoia begin to consume his mind and entrench his chassis.

_No, no, no,_ Breakdown thought, this is not the time for this. _I can't be found by that human or his…_ Breakdown looked back in the direction of the abandoned town where he had been captured by the humans, a shudder of fear shaking his chassis to the core. _I have to get out of here,_ Breakdown thought to himself as he transformed into his alt mode, revving his engine quietly to avoid detection as he headed down the road.

Breakdown attempted to activate his communications link but received only a high-pitched scratching noise. Figuring that the humans had shut off his commlink, Breakdown turned instead to his scanner, hoping to find some kind of Decepticon activity near his location. His scanner brought up nothing of use, and with a frustrated rev of his engine, Breakdown shut off his scanner.

As the cold emptiness of night surrounded the blue mech, his thoughts wandered to something else that had been nagging at his mind since he'd left the grasp of the humans.

_Bulkhead._ Why had Bulkhead come to save him of all mechs? _Or the rest of the Autobots for that matter? Why would the Autobots save me, a Decepticon?_ Breakdown could not fathom why his sworn enemies would come and risk their own sparks to save his. For many, many, vorns , Breakdown had know the Autobots as mechs set so against the Decepticons that they would never do anything to risk their sparks for that of their enemy. But know those lines had seemed to fade in Breakdown's mind, and they had faded so that when Starscream had commanded him to attack Bulkhead, Breakdown had hesitated. Three times. _I disobeyed the orders of my Commanding Officer three times? And for Bulkhead? What was wrong with me?_

_I am a Decepticon… Right? So why did I not attack Bulkhead off the bat?_ Breakdown mused to himself, the distraction of his thoughts deafening him to the soft pinging of his scanner coming online with a steady thrum. Almost too late, Breakdown noticed the pinging of his scanner and smashed his brakes, halting his alt mode just inches from a guardrail and beyond, a sheer cliff drop. Breakdown transformed into his normal mode and glanced down the cliff side, a small shiver coursing down his spine at the endless blackness that shrouded the dropping of the cliff.

Breakdown heightened his scanner's ability to detect Energon or Decepticons as much as he could, a small vent of frustration escaping as the scanner indicated his target was below him. Down the cliff. Breakdown shuffled his pedes warily, he hated the idea of trudging down the cliffside in the pitch darkness of night with hindered sight that came from the loss of his right optic.

_This is my only chance to get back to the Nemesis, I have to do this…_ Breakdown exvented and leapt the guardrail, pedes hitting the rocky cliff side forcefully. The mech slid down the cliff haphazardly, and it took all Breakdown had in him to not slip and fall down the rest of the cliff face from exhuastion. Finally, Breakdown reached the bottom of the cliff and a burst of relief washed over him when he felt his pedes smash onto solid, flat land with a heavy thud. Breakdown's scanner beeped, indicating that the signal he was tracking was somewhere to his right in the canyon.

With a heavily controlled exvent, Breakdown transformed into his alt mode and headed in the direction his scanner was indicating, though he stayed sure of keeping his engine quiet to keep someone from detecting him.

Soon, Breakdown's audio receptors picked up the unmistakable sound of drilling, meaning that he was getting close to some Decepticon minors. The big mech transformed out of his alt mode, and walked towards the sound of the drilling. It only took a few minutes for the big mech to find a large group of Decepticon minors, all of whom were hard at work drilling. Breakdown slunk around the bulk of the workers, hoping that the blackness of the night would keep him hidden from the minors, for he did not want any of the minors to see the condition he was in.

Breakdown halted when he heard the sound of some Vehicons coming in his direction. Nervousness gnawed at Breakdown as he pressed his chassis against an unused drill, optic snapping onto the three Vehicons that rounded the side of the drill. One of the Vehicons, a flyer, waved one of his servos in a shushing motion to the other Vehicons.

The two Vehicons quieted down, their stances nervous as the flyer Vehicon nodded slowly.

"Yes, Lord Megatron. We have a supply of Energon ready for pickup here at the Chukotka mine." The Vehicon paused for a few moments, his head nodding slowly, though Breakdown could see a flash of fear race through the Vehicon's visor.

"Got it, Lord Megatron," the Vehicon said sharply, turning to the two Vehicons standing behind him.

The smallest Vehicon of the trio looked up at the flyer, servos clicking together. "What did Lord Megatron say?"

"Lord Megatron and the Nemesis will be here in some time to pick up the Energon supply. I'll advise the minors."

The three Vehicons turned as a unit and walked away, their soft mutters fading into the dull sounds of drilling. Breakdown let out a tired vent as he relaxed his chassis against the metal side of the drill, a feeling of sludgy blackness settling in his mind. Breakdown's optic was shuttering close when the sound - or lack thereof- of drilling halted, snapping Breakdown back to the present. The blue mech glanced skyward, optic taking in the flames of color beginning to blaze in the sky as the dark, foreboding form of the Nemesis moved into view.

As the Energon lift lowered from the bottom of the ship, stopping at a large supply of Energon guarded by a lone Vehicon. Breakdown got up from his position, his chassis creaking tiredly as the blue mech trudged towards the lift. He pointedly avoided the Vehicons near the lift, leaping onto the The large mech glanced towards the troop of Vehicons loading the Energon onto the lift, none of whom were really giving much time to check the lift for anything that wasn't Energon.

It didn't take much time for the energon lift to be loaded full with the mined energon and, with a light groan the lift began to pull back into the body of the _Nemesis_. The lift snapped into place inside the Nemesis, Breakdown clambering from the shipment of Energon carefully. The big mech's pedes drug over the Nemesis' floor platings as he headed out of the room, pausing momentarily in the hallway to glance around for any incoming Decepticons. Noting none, Breakdown headed towards his quarters silently.

There was a purpose to how Breakdown avoided the most populated hallways, forcing him to go the longest route to his quarters, which his entire chassis protested. Breakdown's thoughts strayed, a coldness settling over his chassis as unwanted memories of human tools cutting into him, stripping him off an optic… and more. Breakdown's thoughts turned to that of the human with the scars and poisonous voice, and an uncontrollable ribble of absolute terror blasted through Breakdown's chassis, causing the mech to falter in his stride. Breakdown had never felt such terror in his life, not even the thought of Megatron's disapproval could shake Breakdown as much as the thought of the human leader did.

Breakdown's thoughts were so consumed by the humans who had captured him, he failed to hear the soft clacks of an approaching mech or it calling out his name until a soft brush of metal traced across his left arm. The light brush against his arm caused Breakdown to leap sideways, servos transforming into hammers as his remaining optic whirled crazily, seeking, searching for what had touched him.

It wasn't Breakdown's optic that caught whatever had touched him but instead the nervous voice of a Vehicon from his side.

"Sir?"

Breakdown's optic landed on the purple Vehicon, this one a flyer, standing to his side, whose servos were raised in a non-threatening gesture. Breakdown let out a shaky exvent, pushing away the thoughts of what had happened to him as he addressed the Vehicon. "What do you want?"

"Uh… I was worried about you sir, I heard rumors-"

"What kind of rumors?" Breakdown asked the Vehicon, though he already figured what rumors the Vehicon was hinting at.

"Rumors that you were, ahh, captured by humans. I did not believe the rumors, personally, for I know of your strength and, I was worried because Megatron did not allow-" The Vehicons blabber stopped midsentence as he finally noticed the fresh scars coating the chassis of his higher-in-command. Breakdown's stare was cold, the one yellow optic narrow as the small Vehicon backed away from Breakdown.

"What happened to you?"

"Rumors," Breakdown hissed, turning his back on the Vehicon with a barely concealed vent of pure, unadulterated hatred. Breakdown had only gotten a few feet away from the Vehicon when the trooper jumped in front of him, wigs flaring outwards.

"You are injured sir, please let me help you to Knock Out's medical bay."

"Leave Knock Out out of this, and get away from me," Breakdown snapped, surprising the Vehicon with his harsh tone. The Vehicon hesitated, then turned and fled from Breakdown, who watched the Vehicon go with a vent. Breakdown's temper simmered shortly after, for he felt sorry for the Vehicon who was only worried about the condition of his higher-in-command.

Breakdown shook his head, and began heading back to his room, though his thoughts were now on Knock Out. He hadn't even thought about Knock Out since escaping the humans' lap, for he felt a twinge of anger that the mech whom Breakdown considered as his friend had not been the one to save him from the humans, but Starscream. _Why did Knock Out not come to save me? Am I not worth his time? It doesn't matter, it doesn't…_

Breakdown pushed away thoughts of the Decepticon medic as he reached the door of his quarters, pushing it open with a servo. As the door creaked open, Breakdown was greeted by the signature emptiness of his room, cleared out so as to calm his paranoia from fragmenting a possible threat from anything. Breakdown drug himself to his recharge slap, collapsing onto the slap heavily. Breakdown's thoughts turned over themselves, between Starscream, the humans calling themselves MECH, the Autobots. Over and over.

The halls of the Nemesis had turned silent, indicating how most of the crew was in recharge by now, but Breakdown could not delve into the depths of recharge for he feared what his sleeping mind would show him. Shuddering to himself, the large mech stood from where he was sitting when, without warning, his legs gave out from beneath him and he collapsed to the ground. A shudder tore through Breakdown's chassis, and a eerie, haunting thought tugged at his mind.

_The Vehicon was saying something about Megatron…_

_Megatron didn't allow the Decepticons to save me? Why?_

_Why did Megatron deem me as not worth his time to save? Why?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back on the Nemesis, Breakdown gets a bit of help from the Decepticon medic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole AO3 thing is so new to me, so excuse me if I make a mistake or two!

" _No one is coming for you, no one will save you. You belong to us, to MECH, now. You will never escape…"_

The chilly voice of MECH's leader, Silas, snapped Breakdown out of recharge, the blue mech's chassis quaking with terror. The sound of saws drilling through metal and the sharp static of a drill echoed eerily in the deep shadows of Breakdown's quarters. Every shadow seemed to pulse with oozing life, reaching, grabbing, hungering for a taste of living metal. Breakdown's optic swiveled around wildly, lingering for moments to long on areas where the blackness of his quarters seemed to hide something living.

Shaken, the large mech pulled his limbs close to his body, ignorant to the sickening _screech_ of metal on metal as he wrapped his arms across his legs, exventing heavily. Each vent came heavier and heavier as the darkness wrapped itself around Breakdown, snagging at him with faint brushes against metal.

" _We intend to pull you apart. Break you down, if you will…"_

Silas' words boomed in the emptiness of Breakdown's mind, cutting deeper than any weapon or piece of equipment ever could, haunting and evil. Breakdown's chassis began to shake, growing more and more uncontrollable as Silas' voice grew louder and louder in his mind, until the mech finally snapped. An overwhelming urge to flee took control of Breakdown's chassis, forcing his entire frame to lunge upwards, off his recharge slap, and bolt out of his quarters.

He had no idea where he was going, nor did he care, so long as he could escape the shadows… The thunder of his pedes hitting the metal plating of the _Nemesis_ only urged Breakdown to run faster, faster, faster, _faster_. Breakdown rounded a corner and promptly collided into another mech, bowling said mech over and, with a squeak of surprise, tripped over the mech and smashing to the floor with a resounding _crash_.

Breakdown lay where he had fallen, drawing in successively deeper vents in an attempt to calm himself, and his mind, down. Letting out a powerful vent, Breakdown began to push himself back into a standing position, though he did so extremely warily, optic watching for anything - or anyone - who might jump out at him. As his legs stabled underneath his frame, his audio sensors picked up the unmistakable sound of Knock Out fuming near him.

Wincing involuntarily, Breakdown turned towards the Decepticon medic, though he was careful to keep his left side in Knock Out's view only. But when Breakdown turned around,, Knock Out wasn't paying attention to him but was staring horrified at the small dings in his chassis, stance rigid.

Without turning to see his "assailant" Knock Out snarled venomously, "Look what you did, you fool! You _ruined_ my paint job, ruined it! You Vehicons are just useless, clumsy fools. I can't even fathom why Breakd- Oh…" Knock Out stopped talking as he looked up and saw that his assailant was none other than his assaitant. "Ahhhh…. Breakdown? What… What's wrong?" Knock Out's voice hitched ever so slightly with nervousness and was that _surprise?_

"Nothing's wrong," Breakdown lied, knowing full well that Knock Out would be able to easily guess that Breakdown was lying to him. Knock Out's frown deepened at Breakdown's words, optics flickering over Breakdown's chassis, which was still scuffed and damaged from his ordeal with MECH and fight with Bulkhead.

Knock Out looked up into Breakdown's optics, an accusatorial glare burning like flame in his red optics. "What did you do to yourself, Breakdown?" Breakdown bristled at Knock Out's admonishing tone, a feeling of hate burning in his spark towards Knock Out.

_He honestly believes I did_ this _myself?_

"I didn't do this Knock Out, I'm not that much of an oaf," Breakdown snapped, his voice cold as he stared down Knock Out, still keeping his left side to Knock Out only. Knock Out looked stunned by Breakdown's words, engine rumbling questioningly, optics glowing with confusion.

"I didn't mean that Breakdown… I- Wait, why are you acting so strange?" Knock Out asked suddenly, advancing on Breakdown with a threatening glare. Wary, Breakdown began to back away but Knock Out snatched at Breakdown's wrist before he could and, with all of Knock Out's strength, drug Breakdown down to his optic level.

Breakdown winced at the horror in Knock Out's face, the way his grip loosened on his wrist, and how the medic stumbled backwards ever so slightly.

"What happened to you?" Knock Out whispered as he raised a servo to Breakdown's face, grasping onto the larger mech's face and turning it to the left to get a better look at Breakdown's ruined optic area. Breakdown tried to pull away from Knock Out's gaze, nerves spiking higher for the fact that he couldn't see Knock Out, but Knock Out only clenched his clawed servo tighter around Breakdown's face. "Stop."

"Now tell me, Breakdown, what happened to you. Who did this to you?"

Breakdown didn't know what to say, didn't know whether to lie to Knock Out or tell him the truth, but Knock Out silenced his thoughts when his optics widened and he let out a startled vent.

"Humans did this… Didn't they?" Knock Out's words were not a question but a statement and it was that moment that Breakdown realized.

_Knock Out did know about my being captured, just like that Vehicon…_

Breakdown hesitated for a moment, but that was all the answer Knock Out seemed to need. Pushing himself to his full height, Knock Out stood, giving Breakdown a gentle tug, forcing the blue mech to stand back up.

"Come with me. I'm fixing this." Knock Out didn't wait for Breakdown's response, as he was already headed in the direction of the medical bay.

"Fine…" Breakdown said, not really caring as he followed after Knock Out.

Knock Out and Breakdown reached Knock Out's medical bay, where the doors slid open noiselessly as the red mech strolled in, followed by Breakdown. Breakdown's gaze tracked around the room, spotting evidence of Knock Out having already worked on some Vehicons, judging by the array of tools spread out over Knock Out's table.

"Breakdown, come on," Knock Out's voice was soft but urging, the medic pointing to one of the operating slabs. Breakdown grumbled and stomped up to the slab but hesitated as flashes of a different operating slab overtook his mind. Fearfully, Breakdown began to back away from the slab, but the gentle grasp of Knock Out's servos eased Breakdown's nerves for a moment.

"It's okay, Breakdown, you are safe here. Now get on the slab or I'll have to make you." The urgency in Knock Out's voice was all Breakdown needed to settle down enough, and soon he was lay on the operating slab while Knock Out was rummaging through his tools for something.

Breakdown watched Knock Out closely, for even though he knew this was a fellow Decepticon trying to help him, Breakdown couldn't help but see flashes of other, _fleshy_ surgeons with tools. Quickly, Knock Out voiced an "aha" as he pulled out a metal file from a smaller box of tools, turning to Breakdown with a tight smile.

"Now then Breakdown, I'm going to have to file down this bit here," Knock Out pointed to the damage from Breakdown getting his right optic drilled out, "and then, once that is done we'll move on to the next step."

Breakdown didn't reply to Knock Out, though he let out a weary vent as Knock Out approached him, file in servo. Knock Out pulled a stool to Breakdown's right side, servos clacking as he readjusted himself until he wa satisfied with his position to work on Breakdown's faceplate.

To nervous to watch, Breakdown shuttered his optic, wincing at the feeling of the file running across the torn metal of his faceplate. Soon, Breakdown could feel Knock Out's file digging deeper into Breakdown's ruined faceplate, accompanied by an eerie high-pitched noise.

Breakdown's optic snapped open and, instead of the friendly, concentrated face of Knock Out, Breakdown could see only the faceless form of a human standing over him, drill lowering to his optic.

"No!" Breakdown shrieked, both servos transforming into hammers as he struggled to get up, to escape the humans, his torturers, but something was restraining him. "No… no, no… NO! Get away from me! GET AWAY!" Breakdown swung out blindly, hitting nothing as a voice began to call out to him distantly.

"Breakdown! Calm down, you're safe, you are here on the _Nemesis_. You're with me, with Knock Out. I'm not going to hurt you, I can't… Not more than I already have."

Breakdown heard the distant voice fall away but so too did the image of the human. As the image faded from Breakdown's mind, he felt his hammers transform back into servos and two clawed servos gently grasped onto his chassis.

"It's okay… I'm so sorry, Breakdown. I…" Knock Out's voice stalled, but his comforting grasp never left Breakdown until the large mech was finally able to vent normally, though his mind was still consumed by worry and fear. Breakdown wheeled his gaze on Knock Out, optic begging him silently for help. Knock Out's optics lowered, and for once Breakdown could see how much it hurt Knock Out to see Breakdown in this state of mental turmoil.

"Knock Out…"

"No, don't say anything," Knock Out urged Breakdown, optics pained. Breakdown attempted to shift his body, but Knock Out pushed him back onto the slap. "I can't fix your mind, Breakdown, but you can bet on Primus I will fix everything else. Now please… Let me do this."

Breakdown opened his mouth, but closed it quickly and gave an affirmative nod to Knock Out. Knock Out nodded with understanding and pulled out the file again. Breakdown looked away from Knock Out, bracing himself as the sound of the rasp of metal cutting into metal cut through his audio receptors.

A groon later, Knock Out had fully grasped away all of the torn metal from Breakdown's faceplate; leaving behind a hole where Breakdown's right optic had once been and three jagged scars that ran down part of his faceplate. Knock Out had pulled out his specialized buffer, which was small enough to easily clean away the scratches on Breakdown's helm and faceplate, and had buffed away every scratch meticulously.

Breakdown had tensed at the sound of the buffer, much to his disgust, but he had willed his entire being to lay still until Knock Out had finished. Breakdown wouldn't have admitted it but he had been relieved when Knock Out took the file and buffer away from his view and left Breakdown nothing to do but stare at the ceiling.

Knock Out was busy looking over a datapad, when he turned to Breakdown, a failed attempt at a cheery smile curling over his faceplate.

"Well then. I've got your faceplate fixed so now let's talk about a new optic. We don't have any yellow optics available, though there is a white one-"

"No," Breakdown interrupted, "I don't want a new optic. Just give me a patch that can cover all of this."

Knock Out looked surprised but he gave a noncommittal shrug. "If you're sure, then I guess I can get you an optic eyepatch. And I'll fix the rest of you when I get back, so don't go anywhere." Knock Out's voice trailed off into grumbles too quiet for Breakdown to hear, though he could guess they had to do with his "un-stylistic" choices. Breakdown snorted to himself, shaking his helm as Knock Out stomped out of the medic bay sourely.

Breakdown watched for the medic for a few klicks more, then shuttered his optics with a tired vent, welcoming the silence and loneliness of the medic bay. As the day's events played through Breakdown's mind like one of Knock Out's drive-in movies, Breakdown relented to his utter exhaustion and fell into a dreamless recharge.

* * *

Breakdown hated the way every mech on the _Nemesis_ seemed to stare at him now, muttering things behind his back and shooting him distrustful glares. He had even caught Soundwave watching him extra attentively, which unnerved him far more than any of the Vehicon troopers could.

It had only been six Earth days since Breakdown had been saved from MECH by Bulkhead and the Autobots, but six days was more than enough to have a whirlwind of rumors fly about the ship about what happened to him.

Breakdown tried his best to ignore the stares and looks by finding less populated halls to roam, but everywhere he went the feeling of being watched hung over him like a cloud of fog.

The static crackle of his comm link being activated caused Breakdown to jump slightly as the voice of a Vehicon trooper came through the comms.

"Soundwave seems to have found something important to Lord Megatron, sir. You might want to check it out. He's on the bridge."

"Will do. Thanks Simon."

"My pleasure sir," Simon said happily, cutting the link between their comms with a quiet click.

Breakdown exvented harshly, engine rumbling with displeasure at the thought of having to see Megatron again. Since Breakdown had returned to the _Nemesis_ , he had avoided Megatron pointedly, still confused as to why he would leave him to MECH's hands and also because of how he feared his leader. Breakdown hadn't missed how Starscream would purposefully come to talk with him, always leaving with a reminder of the "debt" he had to repay to Starscream for saving him.

_Ha… Right. Starscream didn't save me, fragging_ Bulkhead _did._

Breakdown grumbled to himself moodily as he reached the control room for the _Nemesis_ , a hint of nervousness spiking through his spark at the sight of Megatron, who had just turned to Soundwave.

"I recognize this magnetic signature, Soundwave. And it would be unfortunate to have a Decepticon invention such as this used against us."

"I will secure the weapon Lord Megatron." The words had come out of Breakdown before he could even process them, and it seemed to surprise Megatron as much as it surprised Breakdown.

"Breakdown?" Megatron laughed, then began walking towards Breakdown, menacingly. "If you can be bested by mere _humans_ , what chance do you have against the Autobots." Breakdown flinched backwards from Megatron's words, stung by his utter lack of faith in Breakdown.

"Allow me to redeem myself, Master. What I have lost is a constant reminder that I must never again fail you."

Megatron raised an optic ridge, mouth turned down in a frown of disgust.

"Fine, then. Go, find what I need, and don't even think about coming back here empty handed. My patience for failure has been worn thin," Megatron said, turning away from Breakdown with a careless snort, leaving Soundwave to deal with Breakdown.

* * *

"You seem to be getting yourself into all sorts of scrap these days, Breakdown. First captured by humans and now bringing me, _Airachnid_ , back to this _boys club_ without the gauntlet? Megatron must _love_ the amount of success you've been having, _one eye_."

"Oh shut up, spider-freak," Breakdown snapped angrily, chassis tensing at the sound of metal hitting his back and an accompanying hiss from the spider-bot stuck to his back. Breakdown turned his optic on Airachnid, wariness rank in his chassis as the femme's legs twitched ever so slightly, bladed edges coming too close for comfort to Breakdown's backstrut. The blue mech's chassis shuddered involuntarily, causing a wave of anger to exude from Airachnid, though she folded her legs closer to her body with an exvent.

"Stop moving you one-eyed idiot," Airachnid snarled and, even without being able to see her face, Breakdown could feel the chilling glare the femme was giving him.

"Then stop moving those freaky legs of yours!" Breakdown snapped, mind whirling crazily as he attempted, futilely, to get away from the femme attached to his back.

"Oh, would you two stop fidgeting so much?" Knock Out's frustrated grumble jolted Breakdown and Airachnid from their squabble, both turning their gaze on the red mech standing to the side of the attached dou. "'Cause if you don't this… detachment might get messy."

Flustered, Breakdown apologized quickly, though Airachnid said nothing except for giving Knock Out a pointed snort of disgust. Knock Out ignored Airachnid, though Breakdown noticed the way the medic's optics burned just a tad brighter than before as he approached Breakdown and Airachnid with a strange looking device.

"What is that?" Airachnid asked.

"Ah, nothing much. Its supposed to be able to detach you two from each other. Megatron promised me it shouldn't hurt too much," Knock Out answered, his optics showing how much he was going to relish peeling Breakdown and Airachnid apart from each other. Knock Out activated the device and, with one of his signature grins, began working on detaching the two mechs.

It took a joor for Knock Out to finally separate Breakdown and Airachnid from each other, much to the relief of all three mechs. Knock Out had just barely put away his tools when Megatron's voice boomed through the medic bay.

"Knock Out! Have you _finally_ detached Airachnid and Breakdown?"

"Uh, yes, Lord Megatron."

"Good. Then inform Airachnid that I would like to have her presence on the bridge. _Now_." The communication between the medic bay and Megatron ended with a harsh screech of static.

Breakdown turned his gaze on Knock Out, who only gave him a small shrug in response.

"Hmpf. Obviously I have other matters to deal with then," Airachnid said coolly, turning on a heel and marching out of the medical bay without another word.

"Good riddance," Knock Out snapped, Breakdown nodding agreement. "Why did you have to bring _her_ on the ship?"

"I didn't want to… But the weapon I was sent to find was some kind of magnetism device. That blue femme and Bulkhead came and messed everything up, and next thing I know Airachnid is stuck to me." Breakdown muttered darkly, thoughts wheeling away from the current and back to the day's events. _The Autobots, Airachnid, failing Megatron again..._

Knock Out turned his gaze on Breakdown, expression unreadable, and vented softly. "What's wrong with you, Breakdown? You've been acting really off for awhile. So what is wrong?"

"Hmm? What?" Breakdown replied as he stood up, intent on leaving to find somewhere quieter than the medical bay.

"See what I mean, your mind keeps wandering and you haven't been yourself of late. Tell me what the frag is wrong with you Breakdown?" Knock Out's optics flared temperamentally as the red medic slewed his chassis in front of Breakdown.

Affronted, Breakdown pushed Knock Out aside, and strode away, engine growling. Breakdown ignored the sharp thrum of anger from Knock Out's engine, a cold trill of satisfaction burning through his spark at the sharp hiss of the medic bay doors shutting behind him, effectively cutting off Knock Out's growls of protest.

As each step of his pedes lead Breakdown farther away from Knock Out's medical bay, he sensed the loyalty he had once felt so strongly for Knock Out ever so slowly begin to stretch like a rubber band, ever so subtly fraying away. Breakdown felt unhappy about the tenseness he had unconsciously seen grow in his spark around his partner - urged on by the aversion of red optics, tightening of clawed servos, and repeated attempts to sway any questions about why the medic had not saved him from MECH onto any other subject - but the ability to forgive was something Breakdown had struggled with for ages.

Everything was changing for Breakdown since MECH had captured him, and changing swiftly. Hanging out and assisting Knock Out did not produce the same satisfaction it had before, and every day in the _Nemesis_ only made Breakdown's anxiety worsen. He was terrified of Megatron, of Starscream and the seeds of distrust the gray Seeker had planted in Breakdown's mind, but most of all Breakdown was terrified of himself. He was famous on the _Nemesis_ for his unwavering loyalty to the Decepticon cause, and yet Breakdown had felt that loyalty waver and begin to wilt like the petals of a dying flower. And that scared Breakdown, more so than even Megatron, because he knew nothing else but the Decepticon cause, the darkness of the _Nemesis_ and the cold acceptance of how much he had changed since the days he had wandered alongside mechs who were not Decepticons.

Breakdown shook his helm furiously, shaking away the ancient memories of his life before joining Megatron, his life as a Wrecker. He'd avoided thinking about who he was before the Decepticons, even gone so far as to deny any association with the enemies - no, the Wreckers - that he could not understand why he kept thinking about those times.

_I left the Wreckers, and summarily joined the Decepticons, on the basis that I thought the Wreckers had betrayed me. I swore loyalty to Megatron and his Decepticons out of hatred for a group I had believed in… But now… I feel so lost..._

Breakdown's pedes halted before the huge hangar bay doors of the _Nemesis_ , which creaked open slowly. Gaze wary, steps hesitant, Breakdown strode out onto the deck of the _Nemesis_ , which was being pounded by sheets of relentless rain, and halted with a light vent. Breakdown tilted his helm upwards, his one remaining optic shuttering as streaks of rain pelted his faceplate, and let out a shuddering roar that ached of loneliness, confusion and betrayal. Breakdown stayed there on the deck, chassis drummed by the icy rain, washing away his thoughts until all that could be hear was the angry howl of the wind ripping over the metal body of the _Nemesis_.

The quiet emptiness of Breakdown's mind did not stay for long as the memories of his failed mission pulsed angrily in his processor. His fight with Airachnid, Bulkhead and the two-wheeler had been nagging at him all day, not for the fact that he had fought the Autobots, but for a feeling he had lacked throughout the fight. Breakdown had always welcomed the burning rage that turned his mind savage whenever he saw Bulkhead, but that gnawing hatred had not raged through him when he fought Bulkhead and all that he felt was a stiff dislike for the green mech. He could not have ever fathomed the thought of never not hating Bulkhead, hating him for leaving him for dead on the battlefields of Cybertron only to be picked up by a squad of Decepticon soldiers, and yet that was what Breakdown's spark was agonizing over.

_Everything has blurred now, old loyalties, ancient grudges. I don't even know who to trust anymore… I..._

A jolt of piercing agony hit Breakdown through his spark, causing the large mech to stumble back, servos tight and legs shaken, and his chassis shuddered as a sudden thought over took his processor.

_I don't even know who I am anymore._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakdown's hitting "Rock Bottom". ;)

Mud splattered the chassis of Breakdown's alt mode, urgency set deeply in the whine of his engine, straining as it was to get to his destination as swiftly as possible. A sharp turn on the mud soaked road took Breakdown by surprise, tires sliding out on the mud, dragging all of Breakdown's mass sideways relentlessly. Breakdown's tires spun out further and further, finally catching solid enough ground to save himself from sliding off the edge of the road, and bolted back onto the muddy road and towards his destination.

Anticipating another sharp turn, and his destination, Breakdown slowed, twisting his tires in time to fly around the corner and smash his entire frame into the yellow chassis of the Autobot scout. Engine rumbling fiercely, Breakdown transformed out of his alt mode, optic sliding to take in rest of what was happening around him.

Bulkhead and Optimus Prime were fighting side-by-side against Starscream and three Vehicons, while the blue femme was busy dueling against two Vehicons. A pained engine rumble alerted Breakdown back to the Autobot scout, who was struggling to his pedes, mud splattered so heavily over his chassis that only small patches of yellow could be seen.

Before the scout could even recover, Breakdown grabbed the mech by his shoulder pauldrons and flung him towards the blue femme. The femme twisted her chassis, optics widening as the yellow scout bowled into her, sending both Autobots flailing against the mud. The two Vehicons that had been fighting the femme looked towards Breakdown, relief sparking in their optics at his assist. Breakdown ignored them, turning instead to where Starscream and two Vehicons - the third was lying on the ground immobile, energon leaking from its helm - were fighting Optimus Prime and Bulkhead.

Breakdown turned on the two Vehicons he had helped, both of whom flinched backwards from him ever so subtly. "Contact the _Nemesis_ and request a GroundBridge for the wounded, I'll help Starscream." Both mechs nodded in acknowledgement of Breakdown's command, one of the pair following after Breakdown to pull the wounded Vehicon from the fray.

Breakdown let out a roar of his engine, startling Bulkhead from shooting one of the Vehicons fighting alongside Starscream. Noticing Breakdown, Bulkhead immediately turned away from Starscream and Optimus Prime, optics blazing with unbridled hatred, and charged Breakdown. Breakdown smashed his pedes into the mud, sliding to a stop as his servo transformed into a hammer, swinging his hammer against Bulkhead's mace.

"Surprised to see you back so soon, Breakdown," Bulkhead snarled, vents hissing angrily as his engine thrummed with anger and excitement.

Breakdown said nothing in return, activating his energy cannon and aiming it at Bulkhead's faceplate. Bulkhead's optics widened in surprise at the sight, but Breakdown failed to see Bulkhead's other servo raise up to the right side of his face and fired.

Breakdown let out a howl of pain as the energy blast hit the right side of his face, pedes slipping dangerously in the slick mud as he fell away from Bulkhead. Engine growling painfully, Breakdown raised a servo to his face, wincing at the blistering pain coursing endlessly through his helm. Suddenly remembering his situation, amidst the pain overtaking his senses, Breakdown turned, expecting Bulkhead to hit him but instead saw the green ex-Wrecker barrel into Starscream, who had still been fighting Optimus Prime.

Starscream floundered in the mud, then let out a hollow shriek, clawed servos slicing through Bulkhead's chassis. Bulkhead stumbled backwards, pedes skidding out from under him due to the mud and crashed to the ground as Starscream transformed into his alt mode and blasted away from the fight. The rest of the Vehicons, all flyers, blasted after Starscream and it only took a few moments for Breakdown to realize that he had been left behind, at the mercy of others. _Again_.

Breakdown hesitated, his pedes sluicing through the mud slowly as the optics of every single Autobot landed on him. Optimus Prime's optics narrowed slightly and the large mech began to stride towards Breakdown, whose engine began to splutter and thrum higher and higher nervously.

"Breakdown, lower your weapons. Help us end this war, to finish this fight, join the Autobots," Optimus Prime said, his voice somehow soft but commanding all at the same time. Breakdown's optic whirled onto the forms of the other approaching Autobots, of which none had any sort of friendly expression, most especially not the femme.

"What? Let _him_ join us? Pit no. I won't stand by that," Bulkhead's snarl did not surprise Breakdown, for he knew Bulkhead too well to know that the green mech would never be able to even fathom working alongside a traitor, or "Decepticon scum" like Breakdown.

Prime looked down at Bulkhead, a hint of disapproval evident in his optics and the way his mouth turned down in a frown. "Bulkhead, put aside your differences for one moment."

Bulkhead moved to protest but the look from Prime halted Bulkhead before he even started.

Optimus turned back to Breakdown, gaze soft as he offered Breakdown to join the Autobots once more.

Breakdown backed away from the ring of Autobots, some of whom had disgusted looks in their optics, or flat out hatred in Bulkhead's case, but what surprised Breakdown the most was how long his processor lingered on the thought of joining the Autobots.

Breakdown's engine whined rhythmically, his thoughts blazing like fire. He distrusted the Autobots, but they had come to rescue him from MECH, and he knew the feeling of being an Autobot all too well.

But then the thought of Megatron truly halted his thoughts. Megatron's faith in Breakdown was already at an all time low, and even the notion that Breakdown could have considered joining the Autobots would insure certain punishment for Breakdown.

Conviction wavering, Breakdown suddenly wheeled about, transformed into his alt mode and drove away as fast as he could from the Autobots. His tires squelched over the muddy road as he sped away, yanking and yawing his entire frame around wildly.

Thinking that one of the Autobots might be following him, Breakdown twisted one of his mirrors towards the Autobots and saw something that caused a spark of surprise to rip through his chassis. None of the Autobots were following him, _thank Primus_ , but that was not what surprised him so much as the utter disappointment that radiated from Optimus Prime's optics. Breakdown's engine rumbled unsurely, he still distrusted and feared the Autobots and so the large mech raced away from the Autobots.

* * *

Breakdown trudged through the GroundBridge, helm lowered, thoughts elsewhere as streaks of mud slid down his chassis.

"Good to see you back, sir. Knock Out has been wondering where you were," the Vehicon at the Bridge controls called out, turning his chassis towards Breakdown, who had halted at the Vehicons words. The Vehicon's engine rumbled with laughter as he noticed the mud puddling at Breakdown's pedes. "Oh Primus, Knock Out is going to _freak_ when he sees the mess you've brought in."

Breakdown's engine rumbled in acknowledgement of the Vehicon's words, but he said nothing else to the purple mech. The Vehicon shrugged at Breakdown's response and turned back to the GroundBridge controls, clawed digits racing over the control board.

_I should get this mud cleaned off_ , Breakdown thought as he headed away from the GroundBridge control room, turning and heading to the washroom. On his way to the washroom room, Breakdown passed a small group of Vehicons, his mouth turning down into a dark frown as each one avoided his gaze and, in the case of two, muttered to themselves to quietly for Breakdown to decipher what they were saying.

Engine growling, Breakdown wheeled his gaze on the two muttering Vehicons, silencing them a cold glare. Both Vehicons lowered their helms shamefully and shuffled away from Breakdown. The rest of the Vehicons followed after the first two Vehicons hurriedly, all avoiding Breakdown as best they could.

Breakdown's engine rumbled dangerously as he reached the washroom room, and to his relief no other mech was in the washroom at the moment. Not wanting any other mech to stumble across him in the washroom - he shuddered at the thought - Breakdown accessed the controls for the wash room's doors and locked them. Slowly the doors slid shut, the _shunk_ of them locking providing a small comfort to Breakdown.

Quietly, the blue mech turned on one of the wash rack faucets, welcoming the cold stream of water that hit his chassis and began to wash away the mud still clinging to his chassis. Breakdown closed his optic and released a tight vent, his thoughts wisping away with the water that streaked down his chassis.

But the sound of the water soon began to change, twisting into the menacing whine of drills and saws ripping through metal. Breakdown tried to push away the memories now surging through his processor rapidly. Breakdown switched off the wash rack faucet, servo pressing against the wash room wall to steady his furiously shaking chassis as his mind was overtaken by a flood of memories.

" _I'm afraid you won't survive the process, so thank you in advance for your sacrifice," the human, Silas, said, voice cool as ice as he strode into Breakdown's line of view. "MECH is very much in your debt."_

" _You are making a very big mistake, little man. When I'm finished with you, they'll have to scrape you off the floor," Breakdown snarled, his snarl a mask for the thudding fear beating in his spark at the wicked smile crossing the human's face._

" _Since you're evidently not squeamish… I'll allow you to watch. Are his pain receptors disabled?" Silas turned to the faceless human standing on Breakdown's chassis, who nodded slightly in return._

" _Good, then he won't make as much noise. Open him up." Breakdown's mouth and right optic ticked fearfully, helm turning to the human looming over masked human snapped its fingers and one of the large drills lowered itself to the human's height. The drill began to whirl, and as it inched closer and closer to Breakdown's faceplate, the sound heightening as terror renched through Breakdown's spark._

_The last thing Breakdown saw through his right optic was the drill, a flash of sparks, and then a shriek of metal cutting through metal as darkness engulfed the right side of his vision. Though Breakdown could not feel the drill sawing into his faceplate, his servos tightened from the harsh shrieks of the drill ripping through his faceplate._

_The whine of the drill faded away as the human bent down, hand reaching out towards Breakdown's faceplate -_

The sharp memory faded away like mist when, vents heaving, Breakdown stumbled backwards, collapsing against the wall behind him, legs sliding out from underneath him. Breakdown pulled his legs in close to his chestplate, servos clenching around his knees as his engine let out a high-pitched keening noise. The pitch of the blue mech's engine rose higher and higher as his thoughts dwelled deeper and deeper into the murky darkness that was Breakdown's mind

Breakdown's thoughts were so entrenched in his memories that he failed to hear the door to the washroom open, followed by a worried cry from a Vehicon. The Vehicon raced to Breakdown's side, clawed servos gently pressing against the larger mech's shoulder pauldrons.

Breakdown didn't even look towards the Vehicon, but the Vehicon stayed by his side, providing the quietest, most steadfast, comfort to Breakdown.

* * *

"You're all good, Simon. Be more careful around Starscream next time, though," Breakdown said, engine rumbling with soft laughter.

Simon, a Vehicon grounder, nodded, rubbing at his shoulder - which Breakdown had just repaired - with a moody roar from his engine.

"Hey, don't whine to me, Simon. I warned you before about crossing Starscream. You can't trust him…" Breakdown's voice trailed off, his mind recalling Starscream threatening him to choose between Megatron and the seeker. _Yeah, you really_ can't _trust Starscream._

Simon grumbled in unhappy acknowledgement as he pulled himself up from the operating slab, striding out of the medical bay without another glance back at Breakdown; the hiss of the medical bay doors sliding shut affirming Breakdown that the Vehicon had left. Venting softly, he turned back to all the tools he had used to fix Simon's ruined shoulder, and began to arrange each back into order. When he had finished, having replaced the blades on certain tools and throw out a welder in its entirety, Breakdown packed each tool up, ready to put them in proper storage when the sound of the medical bay doors opening drew his attention away from the tools. Expecting another Vehicon, or Simon again, he turned his helm to the direction of the door, and halted. It was Knock Out, and Knock Out looked as surprised to see Breakdown as Breakdown was to see Knock Out.

"Breakdown? What are you doing in here?" Knock Out asked, his gaze ever so slightly wary as he walked up to the blue mech.

"I was patching up one of the Vehicons. That is all, Knock Out," Breakdown replied, his tone cold.

Knock Out hesitated at Breakdown's frosty tone, but shrugged it off with a quick shake of his chassis. "You could have commed me for help, I am the medic after all."

"I don't need help for a simple patch job, I'm perfectly capable of that at least," Breakdown's engine began to hum dangerously as he shot Knock Out a glare from his optic. Knock Out looked like he was going to say something but, with a frustrated growl, the red medic turned away from Breakdown and stomped off. Breakdown watched the medic for a moment then, with a determined set of his mouth, walked out of the medical bay.

Breakdown was headed towards the dining area, to catch up with a few of the Vehicons he was friendly with, when a high, cold voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Breakdown, I've been looking for you. We need to talk." _Starscream._

Groaning angrily, Breakdown turned in the direction of Starscream's voice, optic searching for the seeker. Breakdown could not see Starscream, which made his vents start to hitch nervously - _was he imagining Starscream?_ \- but the cold voice came again.

"You still have to repay your debt to me, Breakdown. I saved you, you work with me," Starscream's voice echoed behind Breakdown's back eerily, the slim seeker slinking up on Breakdown's blind side with a harsh laugh.

Breakdown turned his chassis so he could see Starscream, engine whining involuntarily, but a small amount of relief pulsing in his spark that he hadn't imagined the gray seeker previously. "That makes no sense, Starscream. Why would I turn against Megatron, just to side with you. Everyone knows you aren't very trustworthy, and you left me behind a few days ago when I had to come save _you_ and your Vehicons from the Autobots. I think that's more than enough payment for this ridiculous 'debt' you keep pestering me about."

Starscream let out a piercingly high laugh, startling Breakdown with its harshness. "Oh, trust me Breakdown, it makes perfect sense. I've been watching you, and I can tell that you've become restless aboard the _Nemesis_. You are unhappy here, and if you are smart enough to go through with repaying my debt, you won't have to worry about Megatron ever again. Side with me, with those loyal to me, and you'll be appreciated, as you deserve.

"You've been questioning your loyalty to the Decepticon cause for some time now, aren't I right?" Starscream's words pierced right through to the core of Breakdown, _how does he know what I have been thinking?_

A wicked smile edged across Starscream's faceplate at Breakdown's reaction, and he edged closer and closer to Breakdown, forcing the larger mech to push himself against the wall of the _Nemesis_.

"Ahhh, I am always right, Breakdown. _Always_." Starscream said as he raised his servos towards Breakdown, running the sharp claws down his chest plate, as Starscream pulled himself closer still to Breakdown.

Breakdown's engine stalled as he attempted to turn his helm away from Starscream, to which the seeker let out a harsh snarl and drove his claws into the right side of Breakdown's faceplate. Breakdown flinched fearfully, a whimper of fear escaping from his vocal processor unwillingly, but Starscream seemed to only take more joy out of Breakdown's fear. His chassis pressed against Breakdown's, jet engine rumbling with a weird sense of pleasure as Breakdown tried his hardest to escape from Starscream's grasp.

"You would be wise to not make the mistake of betraying me, Breakdown." With those words Starscream let go of Breakdown, whipping around on his heels and stomping away. It took a few minutes for Breakdown's vents to soften and his engine to lower its pitch, and when it did all Breakdown could feel was more uncertainty and wariness. He was even more wary of Starscream, the flash of the seeker's red optics burnt into his memory and the slash of his clawed digits digging through Breakdown's chassis.

Breakdown shook his helm as a fog of confusion clouded his processor. Everything was so wrong now. Every waking moment for Breakdown seemed to consist of avoiding Megatron, Airachnid, Knock Out and Starscream - who had begun gathering Vehicons frustrated with Megatron to his "cause" - and even the Vehicons he had once befriended so fiercely. But worst of all, the scariest revelation, was that Breakdown wanted out. Out of the Decepticon fold and off of the _Nemesis_ , permanently.

Since Bulkhead had saved him from MECH, Breakdown had felt at odds with himself, and those feelings had only worsened with Starscream's nagging, Megatron's distrust for Breakdown and the poorly veiled looks of disgust from most other Decepticons on the _Nemesis_.

Deciding he needed time to himself, Breakdown headed towards his sleeping quarters. He had almost reached his quarters when he heard the unmistakable sound of a pack of grumpling Vehicons. Breakdown slid against the wall, silencing his engine enough so that he could hear what the Vehicons were saying.

"Megatron is a foolish leader, he makes decisions that cost all of us, be it our lives or our resources, and he never blames himself for the failures. I am tired of working with an idiot of a leader, at least Starscream has promised those of us that join his side something better than dying under Megatron's careless gaze." One Vehicon said, voice confident.

"Bramble, _shush_. We can't have Soundwave hearing us," another Vehicon whispered, his voice high with nervousness, and Breakdown could just imagine the Vehicon glancing around for the Communications Chief.

"I'll say what I want, Jay. Now, come on, I want to find Starscream."

"Fine." The sound of the Vehicons' voices soon faded away, leaving a silence in the hallway. Breakdown headed back to his quarters, even more unsure of himself. The first Vehicon's statement had burrowed its way into Breakdown's mind, and he couldn't stop thinking about the truth in the Vehicons words.

_Megatron has made a few foolish decisions, I'll agree with that… What am I thinking?! This is Megatron for Primus' sake… My leader…_ A shiver quaked over Breakdown's chassis. He still greatly feared Megatron, possibly more so now than ever, for he sometimes caught himself thinking that Megatron somehow knew that Breakdown was weary of the Decepticon cause.

Clearing his thoughts of Megatron, Breakdown opened the door to his quarters, a small level of stress leaving his shoulders at the welcome emptiness of his room. Right as Breakdown was about to settle down for a quick recharge he heard his commlink suddenly crackle with an incoming message.

_Who the…_ Breakdown wondered, activating his comm link hesitantly. Nothing except for a harsh static came through for a few moments, making Breakdown assume that it was just a Vehicon prank, when a faint voice came through.

"Is this Breakdown?"

Breakdown hesitated for the voice was overlapped with too much static for him to tell who it was, but he replied, though cautiously. "Yes, this is Breakdown. Who is this?"

"It's Starscream, you fool. I need you to come to these coordinates as fast as you can." A rush of coordinates pinged onto one of Breakdown's datapads that was active at the moment as Starscream finished talking.

"And why should I, Starscream?" Breakdown asked, optic glancing over to where the coordinates led, surprise shooting through his spark. _It's one of the old Energon mines… What is Starscream doing there?_

"Just do it, Breakdown! Please!" Breakdown's movements halted entirely at the word "please", surprise, confusion and disbelief all warring in his spark.

"Uh... "

"Oh, for Primus' sake! I'm in need of your assistance, so just get over here! And I'm not asking you, I'm _ordering_ you!" Starscream snapped, and in that moment Breakdown realized that the gray seeker's voice was flush with terror.

_Something must really be up with him if he's this scared…_

"Argh… Fine. I'll come, but this does not mean I'm joining your 'side' or whatever you are trying to concoct against Megatron."

Starscream didn't say anything in return, though Breakdown detected a heavy exvent of relief escape from his Commander as the line of communication cut off. A wave of frustration churned through Breakdown's chassis, but his sense of loyalty, that which he had once held so important to himself, made his decision for him.

Breakdown grabbed a few spare cubes of energon, and a spare medical kit, as he guessed by Starscream's tone that the seeker was hurt and hadn't wanted to admit it over the comms. Once he was ready, Breakdown headed to the GroundBridge control room, along with the datapad with Starscream's coordinates in one servo. When he reached the control room for the GroundBridge, Breakdown was surprised to see no Vehicons stationed at the control room. Shrugging, Breakdown downloaded the coordinates starscream had given him into the Bridge control computer and activated the GroundBridge.

* * *

When the GroundBridge opened up, the first thing Breakdown observed was how quiet the abandoned Energon mine was. The sun was bright, casting deep shadows down the shaft of the mine.

_Starscream must be down in the mine_ , Breakdown realized, as his scanner picked up a very faint trace of Energon coming from inside the mine. Shrugging, Breakdown headed down the mineshaft entrance,

Small rays of light seeped through holes in the roof of the mine, lighting the tunnels with a soft, amber light. Breakdown checked his scanner again, but it was pinging haphazardly and for some reason showed four energy signatures somewhere inside the mine.

_That doesn't make sense… This mine was abandoned ages ago, so why is my scanner picking up_ four _energy signatures? Maybe its just the mineral composites messing with the scanner_. Breakdown deactivated his scanner and stored it back into his subspace, frustrated with the confusing messages it was giving him. Breakdown had just turned down another mining tunnel when a high-pitched voice echoed through the tunnel.

"Lord Megatron, I can explain." Breakdown could recognize Starscream's whiny voice anywhere, even in the echoes of the cave.

"Explain what? That you've been hoarding a supply of Energon for your personal use?" That was Megatron's voice… _What is Megatron doing in this old mine?_

"No! Not exactly, you see-" starscream's voice cut off as a resounding crunch rippled through the cave walls, Breakdown could only guess it had to do with Megatron in someway.

"Do not take me for a fool, Starscream! I have been wise to your transgressions from the beginning. Not only did you pluck the Dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to snuff my spark, but you tried to raise your own undead warrior with it. It's no secret that you lost an arm in the process, which you since have replaced."

"You know about that?!" Starscream said indignantly. Breakdown began to move closer in the direction of Megatron and Starscream's voices, creeping along as quietly as he could.

"Soundwave is quite competent at surveillance, I can assure you. The fact is Starscream, despite your treachery, I have allowed you to carry on this long because I took a certain delight in following your string of failures. But you finally become tiresome, predictable. You've hit rock bottom."

"Master, please! Give me one more chance, I beg of you!" The desperate words escaped from Starscream right as the tunnel Breakdown was following opened into a large cavern. As Breakdown was about to call out Starscream's name, his mind suddenly released what was happening right in front of him.

Starscream was crouched down on his servos, wings quivering, while Megatron loomed over the gray seeker, the barrel of his energy cannon pointed right at Starscream's back. Shock glued Breakdown's pedes to the ground, though his entire being was screaming for him to run for his life. Recovering enough from his initial shock, Breakdown began to back away, down the tunnel when Starscream's optics fell on him.

"Breakdown! Help me!" Starscream begged, his voice nearly hysterical, and engine thrumming. Breakdown's chassis began to shake as Megatron turned in Breakdown's direction, red optics widening in disbelief.

"What are you doing here, Breakdown?" Megatron asked, engine growling angrily.

"I…" Breakdown hesitated, unsure of how to explain to Megatron why he was here, how Starscream had ordered him to come to this mine, under the guise of needing assistance.

_Wait… Did he ask me to come help him… To fight Megatron?_

Megatron growled, chassis shaking with rage as he sent another glare towards Breakdown. "Explain yourself, Breakdown. NOW. Or I will personally offline you, too."

Breakdown stepped backwards slightly, nearly stumbling over himself as he backed himself into a corner of the cavern wall.

"Uh… It was Starscream-"

"No, it wasn't! Lord Megatron, please, I have nothing to do with him being here. Nothing! I swear!" Starscream interrupted, the pitch of his engine hitching higher as Megatron turned his attention back on Starscream.

"So, you commed for help, didn't you Starscream?" Megatron snarled, his voice dangerously low.

"No! I-"

"ENOUGH!" Starscream shuddered beneath Megatron's roar and, even though he wasn't close to Megatron, Breakdown felt his chassis shrink from Megatron rage. Megatron turned his gaze back onto Breakdown, optics ablaze.

"Don't think I have forgotten you, Breakdown. You have tested my patience one to many times Breakdown, and I have been doubting your loyalty of late. Now is your last chance to prove your loyalty to me, Breakdown. Or do you wish to join this _fool_ ," Megatron flicked his clawed servo in Starscream's direction, "in death?"

Breakdown glanced between Megatron and Starscream, back and forth, back and forth. Megatron waited, though he seemed to be losing patience fast, and Starscream's optics bored into Breakdown, a silent plea burning in their red depths.

"Make. Your. Choice."

_What do I do?_


	4. Chapter 4

Breakdown's gaze flicked between the forms of his two Commandeers, one cowering fearfully while the other stood proud and fierce.

"Make. Your. Choice." Megatron's voice boomed with the coldest authority, which only made Breakdown more nervous. It angered Breakdown to think of how he would have immediately jumped to Megatron's side before, without a single thought except for preserving his spark and his loyalty to the Decepticons, but now? Now, he was hesitating. He had once believed he'd mattered to the Decepticons - looking back on it, Breakdown realized how foolish it was to think any Decepticon could value anyone but themselves - but no Decepticon had come to save him from MECH.

Breakdown's optic narrowed as his mind settled on his decision. His engine whined, betraying his fear, as he gave a small shake to his chassis.

"I-"

A sudden gasp from Starscream interrupted Breakdown's words and, almost as if in cue, both Breakdown and Megatron turned to see what Starscream had gasped 's optic widened at the sight of the femme Autobot - and a _human_ \- standing at the edge of a different tunnel entrance that opened out into the cavern.

_The Autobot? What is she doing here?_

The Autobot's optics widened in surprise, while her human looked stunned and frightened. Breakdown whisked his gaze back to Megatron, backing away nervously as the leader of the Decepticons let out a furious, guttural roar, and fired his energy cannon at the Autobot. The femme lunged for her human, snatching him up as the blasts from Megatron's cannon just barely missed her human, and dove behind a column of stone. Megatron continued blasting the stone column , his roar of hatred echoing in the cave, nearly as loudly as his blasts.

"Stay down!" the femme called to her human, her right servo transforming into an energy gun, though she ducked behind the column of stone again as another of Megatron's blasts nearly hit her. Breakdown couldn't tear his gaze away from Megatron, who had begun to stride away from Starscream, intent only on offlining the Autobot femme and her human.

A sudden movement from Starscream tore Breakdown's gaze away from Megatron. The seeker glanced at Megatron then, just briefly, towards Breakdown before he let out a cry and bolted down the last tunnel, without a second glance back.

Before Breakdown could do anything, Megatron let out a bellowing, "Starscream! You dare abandon me!" The huge Deception let out a fierce growl and fired blast after blast from his energy cannon after Starscream. An explosion rocked the cave, smashing Breakdown into the wall, as the entire cavern began to rumble ominously.

Breakdown pushed himself off the wall as the Autobot shot Megatron in the back,though Megatron seemed barely fazed by the shots, the large mech retailing with a shot of his own. But Megatron's energy blast did not go where it was planned, as the femme's own blast hit Megatron's cannon hard enough to force his arm upwards, and thus the blasts from his cannon hit the roof of the cavern instead of the Autobot.

 _Oh no…_ The thought crossed Breakdown's mind as a huge piece of rock, dislodged by Megatron's cannon shots, crushed the leader of the Decepticons underneath it and caused a ripple of cracks to tear through the floor of the cavern. Breakdown turned to flee, but the total collapse of the ground from underneath him, took him, the femme and her human down into a yawning chasm of blackness.

* * *

Breakdown awoke to stifling darkness. Fear shot through his chassis, _am I blind? Did I offline?_ A shiver rent his chassis as the unsettling feeling of being trapped stole over his mind. Breakdown attempted to move, but a agonizing blitz of pain stopped him. He turned his helm, hoping to see what ha produced the pain but was only able to see darkness.

Suddenly remembering the lights for his alt mode that were on his shoulder pauldrons, Breakdown flicked them on. The lights providing only a small amount of light, but it was enough for Breakdown to see his legs and right arm trapped under fallen rock, while his left arm was completely free.

 _What happened?_ Breakdown wondered, pausing when a rush of memories flooded his processor. _Megatron. Starscream. The Autobot… And the cave-in. I got caught in the cave-in, that must be why I can't move. I'm trapped…_

Breakdown's engine throttled at the thought of being trapped, unable to ever move again, forever. The blue mech attempted once again to move, but none of his limbs would respond, except to shoot bolts of pain back into his processor.

Breakdown let out a snort of derision from his vents as an idea wormed its way into his thoughts. _Maybe I should just shoot the rocks away- Wait, no. That would just make it worse._

Breakdown's thoughts cooled down, leaving the large mech to stare endlessly into the darkness of his earthen prison. He was nearly close to giving up when a far-off echo of a Decepticon drill activating sent a small jolt of hopefulness through his spark. _Maybe its Megatron?_

The roar of the drill's engine slowly began to heighten, telling Breakdown that whoever was piloting the Decepticon machinery was approaching his position. It was from pure desperation -a desperation to escape from the confining space he was trapped in - that caused Breakdown to call out for help, hopeful that the being piloting the drill would hear him.

He called for help again and again, his voice growing in worry as the sound of the drill faded away and eventually vanished from his audio sensors.

 _Great_. Breakdown chided, engine letting out a thundering roar filled with frustration, anger and fear as any thought of being saved left him. Bitterness raged in Breakdown's spark as an unwanted memory of a different time he had been abandoned, by those he had trusted, wormed its way into his processor.

* * *

_Breakdown stumbled backwards, optics flaring and engine growling as he glared into the optics of his opponent. His opponent let out a small laugh and offered the blue mech a servo. Breakdown grasped onto the servo and was pulled back up to his pedes._

" _You almost got me, Breakdown, almost." Breakdown's opponent had a light-blue and yellow paint job, a commanding aura evident in his speech._

" _Whatever, Seaspray," Breakdown snapped, humiliation burning through his spark. A small note of concern came from Seaspray but Breakdown ignored his fellow Wrecker, instead turning and stomping out of the Wrecker's training room._

_Breakdown hated training with Seaspray, for the Wreckers Second-in-Command always seemed one step ahead of him, easily outmaneuvering Breakdown every practice session. Seaspray always seemed to push every right button on Breakdown, which always pushed the fiery tempered Wrecker of the edge in each training session._

Fragging Seaspray…

_Breakdown turned the corner of the hallway, halting sheepishly at the sight of Bulkhead and Wheeljack playfully lobbing with each other in the main area of the base. The only other two Wreckers at the pass at the current time were Roadbuster, Topspin, and Sharpclaw, all of whom were watching the lobbing game between Bulkhead and Wheeljack._

_Breakdown felt a flush of jealously rage through his spark at the ease the two Wreckers displayed with each other, even though Wheeljack had only joined the Wreckers a few vorns ago. Breakdown, on the other servo, still hadn't been able to display such friendship or easiness around the Wreckers, even though he had been with them almost since their inception._

_A sudden screech of static tore through the communication array, echoing harshly in the base. Every Wrecker winced noticeable as their Communications Chief, a young femme Wrecker named Annihilation, raced to the communication array and flipped the link online._

" _Who is this?" Annihilation asked, her voice nervous._

_The voice that replied was heavy with static so only snips of what was said could be decipherable. "...'bots… Need backup… -ger Pax … Ambush..." The communication line was cut off with a scream and then static._

_Annihilation turned away from the communication control array, confusion sparking in her optics. "What do we do? I wasn't able to get a lock on who that was, but the locator says the message came from Tyger Pax."_

" _If there are Autobots in general, then we have to help," Seaspray said from behind Breakdown, whose backstrut prickled nervously._

_Breakdown wheeled his gaze on Seaspray, "But what if-"_

_Seaspray silenced Breakdown with a cold stare, turning instead to Annihilation. "Prepare a GroundBridge for Tyger Pax, we are going to save those Autobots."_

_Wheeljack's optics lit with excitement at Seaspray words while Bulkhead looked excitedly towards Topspin and Roadbuster. Breakdown glanced towards Annihilation, a rush of paranoia stabbing through his spark at the hesitance in her stance and optics._

She doesn't like this either, _Breakdown realized thankfully. Breakdown hated always feeling paranoid about every little thing, even a wayward shadow, that it gave him a little sense of relief to see another mech as worried about the strange message as he was._

" _Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Topspin, Sharpclaw, Breakdown. You are all coming with me to Tyger Pax, you tot Annihilation." Each mech - except for Breakdown and Annihilation - whose name had been called, looked raring to go, especially Wheeljack._

_Annihilation's mouth sagged open, the large, black and red wings on her back lowering. "Seaspray, why?"_

" _Because I trust you, and you can provide air cover for us, should we need it," Seaspray explained, optics sparking._

" _Fine," Annihilation said coolly, turning over the communication array to Roadbuster unhappily. As Roadbuster activated a GroundBridge to Tyger Pax's coordinates, Breakdown couldn't help a feeling of dread take over him._

* * *

_Breakdown stumbled backwards, servo clutched to his side trying to stop the flow of Energon leaking from his side. The message had turned out to be a Decepticon trick - which came of no surprise to Breakdown - for when the Wreckers had left the GroundBridge from their base, all of them were immediately ambushed by a large unit of Decepticon troopers. The Wreckers had been unable to comm back to base, so were stuck fighting the Decepticons, just the seven of them, against a fleet of 'Con troopers._

Wonderful. _Breakdown thought as he let out a fierce roar of his engine, and smashed his large chassis into the Decepticon trooper that had wounded him. The Decepticon's optics widened as Breakdown smashed it's small frame into the ground with one his large pedes, mercilessly smashing the trooper's helm in with one of Breakdown's hammers. Sparks jetted from the Decepticons helm as its purple servos twitched, growing still as the life ebbed from its spark._

_Breakdown turned away from the offlined trooper without another thought, charging back into the battle with a roar from his engine. Spotting Bulkhead in trouble, surrounded by five Decepticon troopers, Breakdown turned in the direction of the green Wrecker._

" _Hang on, Bulkhead!" Breakdown yelled out, dodging a wild shot of energy from one of the Decepticon troopers gun. Bulkhead seemed to have heard Breakdown's call, for the thick-set mech began to fight harder, throwing off two of the Decepticon troopers that had jumped onto his chassis with a roar._

_Right as one of the Decepticon troopers leveled its gun at Bulkhead's helm, Breakdown plowed into it, servo latching onto the thin helm of his enemy and, with a might heave, threw the Decepticon away from Bulkhead. Another one of the Decepticons noticed Breakdown and, before Breakdown could react to it, shot him in the chestplate._

_Breakdown bit back a cry of pain, instead firing his own shoulder-mounted gun in the direction of the Decepticon trooper. Sick satisfaction blazed through Breakdown as his aim hit true, blasting the trooper's torso in half; the trooper hit the ground wordlessly, chassis twitching spasmodically. Breakdown smiled, a weird rush of pleasure arching through his body at the sight of the mutilated body._

"Thanks, Breakdown _," Bulkhead's voice snapped Breakdown out of his thoughts, the blue mech turning to Bulkhead with a distant expression in his optics. Bulkhead shied backwards, optics glancing away from Breakdown nervously. "Are you okay? I saw you get hit…"_

" _I'm fine," Breakdown replied, his tone level as Bulkhead sidling up next to him. Bulkhead gave Breakdown a nod, though his optics seemed to be really looking anywhere but at Breakdown. Sighing, Breakdown turned, heading back into the battle without another thought towards Bulkhead. The battle seemed to be clearing, as Decepticon troopers were fleeing, or getting shot up before any of the Wreckers could be severely damaged._

At least this is almos-

_Breakdown's thoughts were cut off suddenly when an explosion erupted right from underneath where his right pede had just landed. The explosion flung Breakdown away, his chassis splitting with pain as he crashed into a building at the far edge of the battlefield. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, agony blazing through his chassis like fire._

_Breakdown struggled to move his chassis, but nothing would respond,_ nothing _. Confused, the blue Wrecker turned his helm so he could see why he couldn't move. It took a few moments for his processor to register why he couldn't move, for his entire self had stilled with horror. His legs were missing, leaving behind only scraps of metal for his left leg and nothing where his right leg had once been. Numerous holes, caused by shrapnel from the landmine, covered Breakdown's chassis, while his left arm was torn up and immobile. Energon poured from his wounds, too fast, too fast… Dizzily, Breakdown shook his helm, he had to stay awake, had too…_

_As a swarm of darkness began to flood Breakdown's processor he could, very faintly, hear someone's voice calling his name… Very, very distantly._

Help me… please…

* * *

_Breakdown felt his senses return to him weakly as a soft touch, yet seeming very distant, ran down his frame._

" _We need to get him out of here, Seaspray! I don't know how much longer he can last with these wounds not getting treated."_

_More servos pressed against Breakdown's wounds, trying to do what, Breakdown could not figure out. Slowly, painfully, Breakdown's optics opened, though everything seemed dull and edged with a dark tone._

" _Help..." The words leaked from Breakdown like the Energon seeping from his wounds, weak and strained._

" _Shush, don't talk Breakdown, you're injured."_

" _Bulkhead, have you been able to comm base, yet?" This voice… Seaspray… said from above Breakdown. The voice to Breakdown's side grumbled a negative and, even in Breakdown's weakened mental state, he realized that it was Bulkhead hovering over him…_ He's trying to help me…

" _We're going to save you, Breakdown. Trust me," Bulkhead's voice seemed even more distant and echoing this time, as Breakdown's vision began to melt into the endless black._

" _No, no! Stay with us Breakdown!" Another voice begged, servos smashing into Breakdown's chestplate with an agonized roar. "Don't you_ dare _leave us!"_

_Suddenly, an eerie roar of engines thrummed through the sky, the draw out sound of more Decepticon troopers coming._

" _I thought we finished them!" Topspin gasped._

" _We need to get out of here!" Sharpclaw's roar was loudest of all, even so much as to drill into Breakdown's mind. "Leave Breakdown behind, he's practically offline as it is."_

" _But we can't leave Breakdown, he's one of us!" Bulkhead snapped, astonishment raging in his optics._

" _Who cares? We leave him and get out of here, or we stay and all of us join his sorry self in the Well of the All Sparks." Sharpclaw's voice sounded closer to Breakdown, and yet also more and more distant every passing moment._

" _How could you say that Sharpclaw! We never leave behind one of our own!"_

" _We do now," Sharpclaw roared, the screech of metal on metal piercing Breakdown's audio sensors as a new, blazing pain cut through his neck, followed by the odd sensation of Energon spilling over metal._

" _Why would you-"_

" _Let's go, Bulkhead!" Breakdown could barely hear the words shared between the Wreckers, but the sound of the approaching Decepticons seemed to be getting louder and louder._

_Then, from his right, a voice, flush with pain and anger, spoke up, "We can't stay here any longer… You need to decide what to do, Seaspray."_

_No response came from Seaspray, and Breakdown would not hear what his Second-in-Command would say for in that moment, he felt the darkness swallow him whole._

* * *

_Breakdown awoke to the heat of a welder, blazing over his arm. Optics opening slowly, Breakdown was greeted by the sight of a lithe red mech bent over his arm, welder digit sealing shut the gaping wounds in Breakdown's arm. Confusion pricked Breakdown's spark, he didn't know of any red medics in the Autobot cause…_ So where am I?

" _Ah, you are awake. Good," the medic's voice caught Breakdown by surprise,_ did I say that out loud?

" _And to answer your question, friend, you are in the medical bay of Kaon."_

" _WHAT?! What am I doing with the Decepticons?" Breakdown screeched, engine screaming with horror._

_The red medic gave Breakdown a strange look, red optics piercing. "Because that is where we take injured Decepticons. Where else should you be?"_

_Breakdown hesitated, unsure of what to say to the Decepticon medic. Hoping to wheel the strange conversation away from where it currently was, Breakdown turned to the medic, optics flickering. "What happened to me?"_

_The medic's gaze brightened, a weird smile carving over his faceplate. "I found you on the battlefields of Tyger Pax, you looked like you had stepped on an Autobot landmine or something, because both of your legs were blown off. You also had your neck split open, it looked like by a sword. It was quite a_ nasty _wound. I still can't believe you were still online when I found you, at first I thought you were definitely a goner, but alas. Here you are, alive and nearly fixed."_

" _But what about the Wreckers-" The words escaped from Breakdown before he could stop them, a rush of fear exploding in his spark._ What will this Decepticon do if he realizes I'm not a Decepticon?

" _Hmm? Who… Oh, them! Our troopers scared them off before I even got there, though I heard they looked practically delightful running away scared from us." The medic's words did not process fully in Breakdown's mind for shock and disbelief had consumed his spark._

They actually left me? My friends, companions… They left me to die on the battlefield? Why? WHY?! _Breakdown let out a furious roar, servos clenching tightly. The medic shot away from Breakdown, optics hesitant, though the medic seemed to recover swiftly as Breakdown's roar petered into a soft rumbling from his engine._

" _Um… Well, then. I need to know your name, to log it into the databanks, standard protocol."_

" _It's Breakdown."_

" _Ok then, well, give yourself some time to recover and you will be back to full functionality. We need as many strong mechs as we can get healthy and on the battlefield." The medic turned away from Breakdown, but stopped and turned back to Breakdown. "My name is Knock Out, if you were wondering (as I guess you were, of course)."_

 _Breakdown ignored Knock Out, his mind on one thing and one thing only._ Why did the Wreckers leave me behind?

* * *

Breakdown's memories faded away slowly, though he still could taste the bitter hatred for the Wreckers in his spark. But now that same feeling of abandonment was burning in his spark, this time for the cause that had saved him from certain death many eons ago on Cybertron.

Letting out a shuddering exvent, Breakdown shuttered his remaining optic, tuning his audio sensors as best he could. Just faintly, Breakdown could hear what sounded like the drill but he wasn't too sure for the rocks covering him were messing with his audio sensors.

Soon Breakdown began to miss the immersion of his old memories for, with nothing there to distract his mind, the nauseating, suffocating darkness that controlled his mind began to seep it's way into his every thought. He felt trapped within his own mind, it controlled him more than he, it.

Every shadow seems to glow with eyes that hungered to open him up, see inside him, _use_ him. The creak of rock was not rock to Breakdown, but the whirl of a drill sawing through metal. Yet, deep in his mind Breakdown knew none of what he imagined was there, none of it real except to the parasite that ran his mind.

The rocks crushing his chassis were as binding as his mind, yet less so in that he could, he hoped, escape from the rocks while he would never escape his mind. An involuntary shudder overtook Breakdown's chassis at the thought of being stuck in this cave, never knowing when death would free him from the crushing, binding terror of being stuck in one spot forever.

A sardonic laugh escaped from Breakdown. _Of all ways to go, I get offlined, not by Autobots, but by this planet. Well, better than getting off lined by a fragging, pesky human._

Breakdown's musings were cut off when a loud crack rippled through the cave, a heavy powder of dust falling onto his trapped chassis. _The cave is collapsing in even more…_

But then a small blaze of hope burned through his chassis as another, far more welcome noise, greeted his audio sensors. It was the drill, and it was getting closer.

He tried to call out for help, but his voice was hoarse from pain and tinged with exhaustion. He tried to call out again, and was again met with only a hoarse rasp of his audials. Desperation set in as the sound of the drill began to fade away again. _No_! Breakdown, with one last desperate thought, let loose a roar from his engine that was so loud, he could swear he heard the rocks shake.

Hope fueled through his spark at the sound of the drill thrumming near him, but it soon faded away again. _Whoever is piloting that drill isn't coming for me._

 _What would Knock Out think of my predicament?_ The thought was so sudden for Breakdown that it surprised him. It was no secret on the Nemesis that Breakdown was not happy with Knock Out since Breakdown had escaped MECH. _Should I have rightfully been so frustrated with Knock Out? It wasn't his fault, at least I doubt, that he wasn't one to come and try to save me from MECH._

 _Wait… the_ Nemesis, _of course! I could try to contact the_ Nemesis. _If I tell them that Megatron and I are trapped in an old Energon mine, they'll have to come… Right?_ Pushing away his doubt, Breakdown switched his comms online, hoping - he sort of knew he was hoping to much - that his comms would be able to reach out to the _Nemesis_. Even amongst all the rubble. But no signal showed up on his comms, not even a small, wavering _beep_ of an answering comms. Unhappily, Breakdown slowly began to realize that not only was he not able to get the comm signal through the rock but he couldn't even seem to be able to open the _Nemesis_ specific communications.

 _Soundwave must have known I went to help Starscream… And disconnected me from the_ Nemesis. _I really am alone…_

Breakdown let out a huff of air from his vents, a sense of grim bleakness clawing into his thoughts. _I've always been alone. Always._

A jolt of laughter, dry and emotionless, escaped from Breakdown's audials, surprising the large mech. _I guess being alone is what I deserve for betraying my… friends…_ Breakdown was even more surprised by this thought as he hadn't considered the Wreckers his friends for eons. He had been so consumed by hatred for the Wreckers, unable to forgive them for leaving him on the battlefield alone and dying, that he had never once entertained the idea that he might have once had something like friendship with the Wreckers.

Breakdown flinched slightly as another sickening groan echoed over him, followed by a thick cloud of dust and rock. The rocks pinning Breakdown's limbs soon began to press more and more weight onto his chassis, the pain becoming more and more unbearable.

An agonized groan escaped from the blue mech's audials, his engine shrieking for relief from the crushing pain, any kind of relief. And that relief came in the sound of a drill cutting through stone, fragments of stone being flung ever which way, even pinging of Breakdown's chassis, right as the purple hued tip of the drill shoved through the rocks. Breakdown felt a smile curve over his faceplate, he had never be so thankful to see a Decepticon drill, or anything Decepticon based, ever before.

Breakdown's engine thrummed with pure elation until he saw what was piloting the drill. It was the femme Autobot's human. The human's gaze fell onto Breakdown's trapped form, causing the blue mech's spark to falter nervously. He still greatly distrusted humans, and seeing one with a powerful Decepticon weapon such as the drill just made him feel even more vulnerable to the human's actions.

But the human didn't touch the drill, instead it turned its back on Breakdown and called out something to whatever was behind it. A few moments later, a few moments too long for Breakdown, a form appeared beside the drill.

"Breakdown? What in the Pit are you doing here?" Bulkhead sounded astonished, which pretty much summed up exactly what Breakdown was feeling.

 _Why is Bulkhead here? Did he come to save his Autobot pal? Or was he caught in the cave in too?_ Breakdown thought, though his question was answered by the strain in Bulkhead's optics and the layers of dust covering his chassis.

Bulkhead grumbled something under his breath, optics flaring angrily. "I'll have to ask you again. What are you doing here, _Breakdown_?" Bulkhead's voice was filled with hate, a hate Breakdown seemed to be oddly void of at the moment.

"Ph, I don't know," Breakdown replied sarcastically. "Just _lying_ around. Why? What is it to you, _Bulkhead_?"

Bulkhead's stance stiffened, his servos clenching with tension. The green mech looked like he was ready to smash Breakdown until a new voice halted him.

"Bulkhead, what is wrong?" It was the two-wheeler, the echo of her pedes much lighter than Bulkhead's as she leapt beside her fellow Autobot. Her gaze fell on Breakdown, a rev of disgust ripping from her engine.

"So, you lived the cave-in too. How… fortunate." Her tone was ice-cold, her optics sharp as flint, as the femme gave Breakdown a wicked glare.

Breakdown shrugged, or to the best of his ability tried, having no words to describe what he was feeling. The idea of staring down two Autobot, with no way to defend himself did not sit well with Breakdown. _But I can't do anything about it. I'm at the Autobot's mercy… Or the lack of it._

Both Autobots seemed to share the same thought as Breakdown for, with a quick glance shared between the pair of them, both transformed their servos into guns. Breakdown didn't react, except for a soft rumble from his engine, as he wasn't to surprised. He had never thought the Autobots as merciful, as they seemed to slaughter Vehicons - Vehicons Breakdown had made friends with - without a second thought.

 _This isn't the way I wanted to go_ , Breakdown was thinking just as the human who had been operating the drill spoke up.

"Guys, is this what Optimus would want? He's defenseless," the human said, though its voice seemed hesitant and scared. _He doesn't believe what he is saying._

Bulkhead and the femme both flipped their optics to the human, the femme relenting first with a frustrated rev of her engine.

"Fine, Jack."

Bulkhead didn't immediately relent like his companion, his optics turning back to where Breakdown was pinned and staying there for a few moments. But Breakdown knew Bulkhead, and he knew that the ex-Wrecker wouldn't dare go against the wishes of his superior commander. And Breakdown was right for Bulkhead finally relented, switching his energy cannons back into servos with a pointed glare from his optics. Bulkhead kept his gaze on Breakdown, but he seemed more concerned about protecting the small human peering from around his leg.

"Don't worry, Bulkhead. I'm not going to touch your precious pet," Breakdown said evenly, though he could barely hold back the biting tone that wanted to seep out of his audials and burrow its way into Bulkhead.

Bulkhead didn't seem to appreciate Breakdown's tone either for he lunged towards Breakdown, servo switching to his mace just as the femme leapt in front of Bulkhead, kibble flaring outwards.

"Bulkhead…" She said, tone edged with a dark warning.

Bulkhead fumed, steam hissing from his vents unhappily, but he backed down from the intense gaze of the femme.

"Now what?" Breakdown recognized the high, whiny voice of Bulkhead's pet human, a frown of disgust curving down his faceplate. "We gonna leave him here or what?"

Both Bulkhead and Arcee turned, surprise light in their optics at the human's words, as if they hadn't even thought of any other option than leaving Breakdown in the position he was in. Breakdown rolled his optic at the confused state the two Autobots were in, as if they truly couldn't decide whether to save or leave Breakdown.

"I'll make it simple," Breakdown snapped, "get me out, and I'll leave you be. I don't want to be stuck here forever, and I am willing to hold a truce with you Autobots if you get me out."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Bulkhead questioned, his gaze begging for Breakdown to do something foolish that would justify him getting to smash Breakdown's helm in. "If I remember correctly, Breakdown, you turned on me after I saved you from MECH. Maybe I should have left you to be dissected by them, now that I think about it."

Breakdown froze at the mention of MECH, memories flashing back to Silas' cold gaze and the empty, missing feeling of pain as his right optic was gouged out.

"Well? What will you say about yourself, Breakdown?" Bulkhead's voice was a distant echo but Breakdown grasped onto the anchor to the present, pulling his mind out of memories he really didn't want to revisit again.

"I... " Breakdown hesitated momentarily but the hesitation seemed to be enough for Bulkhead.

"I knew it. We can't trust him, Arcee. Let's go, Miko," Bulkhead said. The green Autobot turned away from Breakdown and signaled for his human, but to Breakdown's utter surprise she ignored Bulkhead's command and ran up to Breakdown.

The little human turned her back to Breakdown, arms crossed as she angled her body threateningly. "I'm not going with you, Bulkhead. Not until we help Breakdown."

Bulkhead's expression was priceless, the femme's was nearly so, but the utter confusion and disbelief that stewed in Bulkhead's optics was better than any stunned look from the femme.

"But Miko," Bulkhead protested lamely, but Breakdown knew the mech had been won over. "UGH. Fine, we'll get you out Breakdown, but after that we are done." _It's surprising how much sway that little human has on Bulkhead_ , Breakdown mused as the little human standing in front of him let out a squeak of triumph, her servo pumping the air happily.

Breakdown felt a rumble of laughter, genuine laughter, pour from his engine at the dour look Bulkhead was giving him, as if he blamed Breakdown for his human's "betrayal".

"Can't handle having a little traitor in your midst, can you Bulkhead?" Breakdown teased lightly, for he knew not to make the Autobots to mad with him for they might decide not to help him.

Bulkhead shot Breakdown a meaningful glare that said _shut up_ as the green mech began to pound away at the rocks pinning Breakdown's legs. The femme did the same, though with less anger, at the rumble preventing his right arm from moving. The duo worked swiftly at removing the rocks, though neither was kind about it, as Breakdown hadn't failed to notice how Bulkhead seemed to purposefully miss breaking the rocks apart and would hit Breakdown's chassis instead at times.

When the Autobots had finally removed all remnants of the rocks that had been pinning Breakdown, both stood around for a moment or two, as if neither knew what to do next. Tired of the Autobots games, Breakdown began to move, his legs dragging across the rocky ground with a harsh shriek.

Breakdown set his mouth into a tight grimace as he gathered his legs underneath himself, pushing himself into a standing position with a heave of his servos off the ground. Just as a small feeling of relief began to fill his spark, Breakdown felt his legs began to shake and, almost without warning, he crashed to the ground. Hot embarrassment snagged his spark like thorns, ripping all the way to his mind.

Without even a second thought Breakdown let out an enraged roara, smashing his servos into the ground as he tried to stand again. Pain blazed through his chassis, pain sourcing from his weakened legs but, with a stubborn snort of his vents, Breakdown ignored the pain. He couldn't stand showing weakness around the Autobots, but most especially around the two humans. But again Breakdown's legs failed him, this time before he had barely he pushed his limbs into a crouching position.

"What?" He snapped, fury, humiliation, embarrassment and self-disgust, raging through his spark at the mild expressions of the two Autobots.

"We can help you," the femme voiced, though Breakdown could tell she was not happy about her suggestion.

"Oh sure you will," Breakdown replied sourly, but he couldn't deny that he was too exhausted to continue trying to do something his entire chassis was telling him he couldn't. A shuddering exvent escaped from Breakdown as he gave a hesitant glance towards Bulkhead and the femme.

Bulkhead seemed to bite back his words as he put his servo out for Breakdown. A moment passed in which no being moved but, deciding getting help from his enemy rather than continue humiliating himself, Breakdown stretched his servo to Bulkhead.

The moment Breakdown felt Bulkhead's servo clasp onto his, he was yanked up onto his pedes, a weird rush of dizziness almost causing Breakdown to collapse again except for Bulkhead's steadying grasp.

"Thanks," Breakdown muttered as he pulled his servo from Bulkhead's quickly. Breakdown ignored the shocked gasp from the humans, though he heard the whiny one say, "I didn't know Decepticons had manners!"

Breakdown's concentration was focused so much on keeping on his pedes that he almost missed Bulkhead's quiet retort.

"Decepticons don't _have_ manners, Miko. And don't you dare ever suggest they do. They kill and torture others for fun. They don't know the first thing about respect, or for caring about others."

In that moment Breakdown felt his quiet tolerance for the Autobots snap. He wheeled on Bulkhead, ignoring the wave of dizziness hitting his processor painfully, engine snarling with rage.

"We don't know about respect?! Who are you to talk, _Autobot_? Your kind murder and destroy countless lives on a daily basis, all in the name of the _HUMANS_!" Breakdown roared, chassis shaking with rage.

Bulkhead stepped back from Breakdown, a look of utter confusion roiling in his optics. "What are you talking about?"

"Who do you think, Bulkhead? The _Vehicons_ , _Makeshift_ , even _Skyquake_!" Breakdown was going to say more when a condescending scoff interrupted him. Furious, the large mech turned, optic landing on the blue femme, whose kibble was raised threateningly.

"The Vehicons? _Hmpf_. I'd sooner believe that Starscream is a good, loyal Decepticon before I'd believe that those _Vehicons_ ," the femme spat the word Vehicon like it was poison, "are really living, thinking beings."

Breakdown stepped back, shock tightening over his spark. "They are living beings, just like you, _femme_. I can't believe you can't see that…"

The femme didn't respond, though her blazing optics were more than enough of an answer to Breakdown. Without a second thought, Breakdown transformed into his Alt mode, pain be damned, and raced away from the Autobots. He dodged fallen boulder after fallen boulder until a flash of sunlight was just visible. He drove hard until he reached the source of light, and burst out of the cave with a subdued roar of his engine.

Breakdown glanced back at the cave, his thoughts lingering momentarily on the Autobots, though those vanished quickly without a second thought.

 _I can't return to the Nemesis, and I will not join the Autobots. I need to figure things out on my own_. Breakdown turned his wheels to the sun and, with no destination in mind, roared away.

_I am not the Decepticon loyalist I once was, nor am I a do-gooder Autobot. I am Breakdown, and I have a score to settle._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I still hate this chapter. I was going away for five weeks without internet when I sped wrote this chapter so...

" _... fire on the corner of Holly and Birch Street…"_

" _... new hit single…"_

" _... an officer down! I repeat…"_

" _... studies show that people who…"_

" _... If I'm gonna make it through the day / Then there's no more use in running /This is something I gotta face…"_

Breakdown shut his radio off with a frustrated snarl, engine shaking the chassis of his alt mode with each angry rumble. The chilly night air brushed over his chassis causing a small shiver to course through his frame.

_Five days of this and nothing! How hard can it be to find one fragging group of pitiful humans. I've looked everywhere for MECH, and have found nothing._

Since Breakdown had escaped from the collapsed mine, and the Autobots, he had been searching for any sign of MECH. Vengeance had ripped its way into his spark, clawing deeper and deeper each day that passed without finding the humans who had tortured him. No matter how many channels, be they secret or open, Breakdown raced through he had heard nothing about MECH, or for that matter Decepticons. And each failed attempt only fueled the tendrils of hatred for Earth and the species that inhabited it.

The thunder of Breakdown's tires hitting the rumble strips on the side of the road jolted his thoughts away from MECH and back to the road he was driving on. Flustered, Breakdown twisted back onto the road, ignoring the indignant honk from the car behind him, as his huge alt mode careened in front of the car.

Breakdown kept his mirrors on the car, who was one of the only cars on the highway at such a late time of night, for his capacity to trust anything was near gone. Pulling away from the human driven car, Breakdown began to feel the pressing blackness of exhaustion clasp onto his chassis. Remembering a sign indicating a rest stop near his position, Breakdown tuned his scanner for a large amounts of humans.

_Great. Humans._

A conformity beep of his scanner told Breakdown that the rest stop was less than half a klik away. When the rest stop appeared, Breakdown slowed and turned in, happy to find the rest stop relatively empty. A small amount of searching found him an empty space nowhere near any other cars or humans resting, and quickly he settled in, setting his scanner to warn him of any Decepticon, Autobot, or MECH movement nearby.

* * *

An incessant whine, that of his scanner, woke Breakdown. Nerves tight, the blue mech slowly turned his engine on, all the while keeping a close view of any strange activity near him. Deciding that his scanner wasn't warning him of danger near him, Breakdown opened up full range of his scanner.

_An injured Decepticon._

Breakdown hesitated, remembering a brief conversation he'd had with Airachnid before he'd left the Decepticons. She had told him about how she had laid a trap for MECH, using a fake Decepticon signal, and MECH had, unsurprisingly, come.

_MECH most likely learned their lesson from Airachnid, and that means the signal could easily be a trap_ , Breakdown thought, engine ticking, _but if this is the only possible lead to MECH, I have to go._

Mind set, Breakdown wheeled out of the rest stop, engine roaring as he sped towards the Decepticon signal.

* * *

The forceful wind shoved at Breakdown, pushing him near the edge of the road even as he tried to stay on track, but the heavy winds were extremely powerful. Breakdown had been following the trace of the Decepticon signal for some time over the dusty road, long enough to see the beginning fire of dawn cresting the edge of the mountains in the distance.

The signal was growing stronger as he drove higher into the mountains, finally halting when the signal stalled out. Breakdown transformed out of his alt mode, engine ticking as he slowly, cautiously advanced on the point that his scanner was showing him.

Breakdown halted as he rounded a small bend in the road, his scanner still pinging even though there was nothing in sight. The road curved sharply around the mountainside, a guardrail protecting drivers on the road from a steep drop off to a cliff to his left.

_Definitely a tra-_

"Well, well, if it isn't Breakdown."

Breakdown wheeled around, optic widening at the sight of Starscream and three Eradicons, each glaring at him balefully.

"S-Starscream? What are you doing here?" Breakdown asked, a flash of fear racing through his spark.

"That is none of your business, _traitor_. But now that I think about it, Megatron won't like the idea of a traitor to the Decepticons running rampant. I know what must be done," Starscream said, optics as chilly as his voice.

"What?!" Breakdown exclaimed, stance tightening as Starscream's Eradicons began to advance slowly on him.

Starscream's optics glowed with a savage hunger, a freaking smile curling his mouth upwards. "The Decepticon cause has no use for traitors." It only took a moment for Breakdown to hear the underlying message in Starscream's voice.

_I no longer have use of you, and you know of my plans. I won't jeopardize my plans by allowing you to live._

Starscream's wings flared and, as his jet engine let out a shrill whine, he roared, "Destroy him!"

Hatred fueled Breakdown as the three Eradicons lunged towards him, one transforming and racing past him while the third began firing at him and the first dove towards him. Breakdown transformed his servo into a hammer, swinging towards the Eradicon closest to him, snarling as the Eradicon began a purple blur behind his field of vision. Breakdown turned his frame, trying to keep track of his enemy when his scanner picked up the trace of three missiles headed straight towards him.

Breakdown wheeled around, and was hit by the concussive force of the three missiles. The explosion of the three missiles sent Breakdown flying over the guardrail, and down the cliff. The ground rushed past his helm, pain sinking like claws into his spark as his chassis finally slammed to a stop at the bottom of the cliff.

Wining, and nearly collapsing for pain, Breakdown struggled to righten himself, optic blurred with dust and edged with blackness. Wiping away the dust coating his faceplate with one servo, Breakdown stiffened at the sound of four jet engines landing near him.

Slowly, warily, Breakdown turned his helm, optic narrowing as Starscream lowered himself to Breakdown's height, a smug smile overtaking his helm.

"How easily the traitors fall," Starscream whispered, voice to low for the Eradicons to hear as one of his clawed servos hooked under Breakdown's helm. Metal screeched over metal as Starscream tilted Breakdown's helm towards him, enough so Breakdown could more easily see the gray seeker.

"You didn't hold up your end of the deal, and for that you shall suffer."

Starscream snapped his right arm out to his side, clawed digits unlocking with a hiss of pistons, optics flaring as he lowered each digit to Breakdown's remaining optic.

"Sir! Something strange has come up on my scanner, it looks like a mass of human vehicles, headed this way, twenty miles out" one Eradicon suddenly interrupted stiffly. Starscream wheeled his gaze the Eradicon, fury blazing in his optics.

"What do I care about _humans_ for?" Starscream snarled, wings flaring as he faced off against the Eradicon, whose chassis had begun to shudder.

"Sir… I believe these humans might be MECH. We did track that Decepticon signal here… It may have been a trap and Megatron won't be pleased if he learns of us leaving the _Nemesis_ without his permission, and if we are seen by humans…"

Starscream's engine hummed, digits tapping against the underside of his helm. "Fine." The Eradicon let out a vent of relief as Starscream turned back to Breakdown, again with his mouth curved into a cruel smile.

"I guess it won't be at my servos that you shall suffer Breakdown. Seems your fate is tied heavily to MECH." Starscream turned to the three Eradicons and, with Starscream's usual flare, all three transformed and raced off.

Breakdown's engine quit right then and he collapsed back to the ground, the faint sound of helicopters approaching his position echoing deeply in his mind.

_There is only one thing I can do to escape MECH. I don't like it, but I would rather live with_ them _than become MECH's experiment again._

Fighting his mind to stay conscious Breakdown tuned his signal to a high-frequency tune. _I hope this hear this…_

"Autobots, this is Breakdown. I… I need help, please come... "


	6. Chapter 6

A harsh, echoing, shriek snapped Ratchet's gaze to the blaring display screens in the Autobot base. The old medic slowly pulled himself up onto his pedes, pistons groaning, and strode to the HUDS. As his optics flickered over the display screens his digits flew to the control panel, silencing the shrieking with a satisfied snort.

But Ratchet's satisfaction didn't stay long for, as the shrieking faded, something new replaced it.

_A high frequency signal? From who? And why?_ Ratchet wondered, gaze turning as the sound of Optimus' heavy pedes came beside him. Optimus' piercing blue optics turned to Ratchet questioningly.

"What is going on, Ratchet?" Optimus asked, his gaze turning to the display screens slowly.

"It's some form of high frequency signal," Ratchet explained, tapping a few commands into the control panel, clearing up the high frequency signal. A few moments passed as the signal unscrambled then, with a jolt of surprise, Ratchet stumbled backwards. Optimus' engine thrummed slightly, hinting at the leader's surprise too.

The signal was from Breakdown. Ratchet turned a questioning look to Optimus, who gave the shortest of nods to the medic. Venting, Ratchet opened the unscrambled signal and read out the message that flowed over the bright green display screens.

" _Autobots… This is Breakdown. I… I need help, please come._ "

"What?!" Bulkhead's shout caused Ratchet to hop sideways, wrenching his concentration away from Breakdown's message. Ratchet turned to Bulkhead, who was standing near the GroundBridge with a bewildered expression illuminating his faceplate.

"Why in the name of Primus would _Breakdown_ of all mechs, send _us_ a plee for help?"

Before Ratchet could reply to Bulkhead's question, Optimus shot him a silencing look. Ratchet bit back his words, crossing his arms over his chestplate with a heavy vent. Optimus turned towards Bulkhead, engine ticking gradually.

"Bulkhead… I understand that you and Breakdown have an unsavory history between the two of you, but we must not dismiss Breakdown's message so swiftly."

"But-" Bulkhead began to protest, but a steady glare from Optimus shut the green mech up quickly. Ratchet turned back to the display screens, servos tightening tensely as he reread Breakdown's message once again.

"I believe that-"

"What is going on?" Arcee's voice interrupted Optimus, causing the Autobot to let out a frustrated growl from his engine. Ratchet turned his gaze to Arcee, who had just walked into the main room with Bumblebee.

"A message," Ratchet said shortly, impatience beginning to turn his tone stiffer than usual.

"From whom?" Arcee asked, her tone snippy.

Ratchet groaned, rolling his optics as he turned his full attention to Acree.

"Arcee-"

"It's from Breakdown. And he wants our help," Bulkhead snarled, cutting off Ratchet, and causing the old medic to groan and press a servo against his faceplate. Ratchet lowered his servo and watched as Arcee's mouth fell open, the kibble on her back flaring outwards angrily.

"Breakdown? Why would he be asking us for help? Couldn't he just ask his Decepticon pals to help him instead?"

"That is what worries me, Arcee. You told us that you saw Breakdown at the Energon mine that collapsed with Starscream and Megatron, and that you later encountered him trapped within the cave. No Decepticon was there to help him then, and I highly doubt there will be any this time either. We have all seen how the Decepticons treat one of their own in need plenty well."

Arcee let out a frustrated vent, optics flaring. "You aren't suggesting we help Breakdown, are you Optimus? We've helped him more times than he ever deserved, and each time we've nearly died. We were almost blown up the first time, then saved him in the middle of a cave collapse. I'd really not like to risk my life again for _him_."

Optimus' vents hissed, and he looked about ready to say something to Arcee when another high-pitched wail ripped through the base.

"Shut it off!" Arcee's scream was barely audible over the wailing alarms but Ratchet still lunged for the control panel, digits racing over the monitor till the shrieking stopped. This time the high-frequency signal began to unscramble on its own, finally showing its message. Scanning over it Ratchet again read it out loud.

"For Primus' sake, I'm not going to attack you, I'm being hunted by MECH at the moment and I don't really feel like becoming their experiment again."

"Oh sure, and we are going to believe this, right? A Decepticon, mind you, thinks that we would be foolish enough to-"

"Enough, Arcee," Optimus said, silencing Arcee immediately. Though Optimus' command was short, every mech in the base could hear the frustration building in their leader's voice. Arcee lowered her helm, kibble flattening over her back angrily.

Bulkhead didn't say anything, though Ratchet could easily see how angry the former Wrecker was getting. Bumblebee just looked nervous, his optics flickering between Arcee and Optimus like a pendulum.

"The right thing to do would be helping Breakdown… And I do not believe that Breakdown is trying to trick us in this moment," Optimus mused, one servo placed under his helm thoughtfully.

Ratchet stayed quite, a rush of uncertainty and loyalty towards Optimus conflicting within his processor. Saving Breakdown was the most honorable choice, especially if the Decepticon wasn't lying about MECH hunting him. But… At the same time, this was Breakdown. A known Decepticon loyalist. And Ratchet wouldn't put it past Breakdown for his messages to be some elaborate trap set for the Autobots.

Ratchet glanced towards Optimus, who looked deep in thought. _He's weighing the consequences of saving Breakdown, and how it will affect the team._

The telltale flicker of Optimus' optics told Ratchet that Optimus had made up his mind and, just as the large semi turned to the Autobots gathered around him another wailing shriek wrenched through the base. Ratchet wheeled on the monitor and shut off the signal, already prepared to read out the newest message.

"If you Autobots have any of that 'honor' you preach so much about, you would help me."

Ratchet turned his gaze away from the display screens and back to the mechs ringed near him. The tension sparking in the base was nearly tangible until Optimus let out a long exvent.

"We will help Breakdown. Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee, you are coming with me. Ratchet, be prepared for anything," Optimus ordered tersely, frame tight with obvious tension. Ratchet nodded in response, finding Breakdown's coordinates through his messages and firing up the GroundBridge. Optimus gave one last long look to Ratchet and then transformed into his alt mode and raced through the GroundBridge, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead all following suit.

_Please, Primus, let this not be a trap…_

* * *

The sharp crack of bullets hitting metal echoed through the forest and ripped into Breakdown's audials. The blue mech stumbled against a tree, servo clutching onto the thick tree to steady himself. Energon traced down his shoulder, where a blast from one of the MECh helicopters chasing him had torn a sizable hole in his shoulder plates. Biting back the pain that blazed through his chassis from his shoulder wound and the numerous wounds from other assorted MECH weapons, Breakdown transformed into his alt mode, tires throwing dirt skyward as he charged off.

Trees flashed by in Breakdown's muted vision, branches slashing into his side as he accidently smashed his right side into a large tree. Breakdown's engine rattled, his nerves beginning to fray as the throbbing sound of rotor blades slashing through the sky came ever closer to his position.

He continued to flee from MECH, but as each little klik passed he could feel an oozing blackness began to creep into his mind. His mind was beginning to fall prey to hated memories of shrieking drills and the cold gaze of eyes knowing his entire being inside and out.

With Breakdown's mind so distracted he failed to see a thick clump of trees in front of him until he crashed into them full force. Pain blistered with a roar through his chassis as he transformed back into his normal mode, pained shrieks escaping from his engine.

Breakdown stumbled, pedes slipping over each other, chassis crashing to the ground amongst the thick copse of trees. Exhaustion and pain - and a rank fear- tore to the core of his being, each vent growing shakier and shakier with terror.

The sound of the MECH 'copters was only getting to a higher, more deafening tone and with them Breakdown could feel a cruel sense of defeat began to crush his spark. Stiffly, Breakdown pushed a servo into the soft earth beneath him to steady his shaking chassis, optic shuttering with a deep exvent.

_The Autobots aren't going to come. It was a waste of my time even trying to ask for their help,_ Breakdown thought hollowly. Bullets whizzed over Breakdown's helm, smacking into trees and shredding through thin branches, causing a rain of splinters and leaves to fall on Breakdown's chassis. A furious wind began to beat at the crowns of the trees, flinging away stray leaves and branches as one of the MECH helicopters began to lower itself to the ground.

A dull fury raced through Breakdown, and so he scrambled to his pedes, shoulder cannon activating and locking onto the helicopter. Before he could fire his gun though, the helicopter pulled back, lofting high into the sky out of Breakdown's range. Breakdown watched the helicopter warily, ignoring the dull blares from his internal processors warning him of energon loss.

The helicopter hovered for a few more moments out of Breakdown's range then began to lower again to a narrow, grassy meadow only a few mechanometers away from Breakdown. As the machines rotors began to slow a sudden snap of the opening of a GroundBridge drove Breakdown's attention elsewhere. Breakdown wheeled his gaze to his left, optic narrowing, partially noticing the sound of the helicopters rotors speeding up again and then lifting away.

Four Autobots emerged from the GroundBridge, all with their weapons trained simultaneously on Breakdown and the MECH chopper. Wisely Breakdown stayed still, though he kept an extra close optic on Bulkhead, who seemed to be doing the same in kind to Breakdown.

Optimus Prime's cannons both switched to the MECH helicopter, a threatening rumble escaping from the Autobot leader's engine. A few tense nanokliks passed, in which neither Prime nor the helicopter moved, but the helicopter folded first, wheeling about and zooming away. The retreating helicopter was met by the other MECH helicopter and then both faded into the clouds.

Breakdown let out a relieved vent when the sound of the MECH machines vanished, then he turned his gaze back to the Autobots. A klik or two passed in which no mech made a move, though Optimus Prime kept his gaze locked solely in the direction of the MECH helicopters. When the Autobot leader turned his gaze towards Breakdown, the former Decepticon flinched slightly, suddenly nervous about his situation. Pulling himself to his pedes, which made the two-wheeler tense up visibly, Breakdown deactivated his energy cannon and slowly raised his servos in a non-threatening gesture.

Bulkhead's engine growled with obvious distrust, the green mech's optics blazing with fire. "Don't try anything, Breakdown."

Breakdown let out a frustrated groan, rolling his optic skyward at Bulkhead's words. "I already told you, I'm not going to attack you. Frankly, I'm in no condition _to_ attack you - and I'm not stupid enough to - so, just calm down." Once Breakdown finished talking he noticed Bulkhead and the femme both cast each other unconvinced glances, though the yellow scout kept staring at Breakdown. Bulkhead and the femme turned their gazes back to Breakdown and, at a small signal from Prime, transformed their cannons back into their normal states.

Optimus Prime strode up to Breakdown, expression unreadable, stopping only a hic away from the blue mech.

"Breakdown, we are glad to see you alive and in one piece," Bulkhead grumbled something from behind Prime, though it was to low for Breakdown to decipher, "and so I ask you this. If we are to bring you back to our Autobot base, will you do right by your own word and be peaceful. I will only allow you to our base, and to our medic to be healed, if you promise to honor your word."

"And what will you do if I do not agree?" Breakdown asked, a hint of coldness infecting his voice.

"We will leave you here and go back to our home. I do not wish unnecessary conflict if it is not needed, and if you do not wish to come with us. What is your choice?" Optimus Prime replied. Breakdown shrugged, thoughts settling on his decision without too much afterthought.

"If you are offering respite then I accept. By my word - take it as you will from a former Decepticon - I promise that I will not attack you, or any of your humans, nor will I establish any contact with the Decepticons," Breakdown said, barely containing the snarl of hate that built at the thought of the Decepticons.

"At least he knows we don't trust a single thing he says, what with him being a Decepticon." Breakdown caught the femme snarling to Bulkhead, who both glared at him unashamedly.

Breakdown turned his full focus onto the femme nad Bulkhead, ignoring the aching pain waving over him as he let out a cold snarl. "I have no affiliation with the Decepticons anymore, nor will I ever again. Imagine what you want _femme_ , but I want to make it clear to you that I do not work with _them_ anymore."

Before the femme - or Bulkhead - could retort, Optimus Prime sent them a silencing glance.

"Then we will allow you into our base, though do not mistake, Breakdown, betray your words and you will regret it."

"I understand."

"Good then. Ratchet, open up the GroundBridge."

As the GroundBridge began to open up, each Autobot gave Breakdown one more wary glance and slowly each walked through. The scout was first, then Bulkhead and the femme, though both were very reluctant about leaving Optimus Prime with Breakdown. Breakdown turned his gaze to Optimus Prime then wordlessly walked through the GroundBridge, followed closely by the Autobot leader.

* * *

"Well, I've done what I can to patch up your injuries, now you just need proper rest for those I could not fix to heal," the Autobot medic - Ratchet, as Breakdown recalled - said, lowering the welding torch from Breakdown's chassis.

"Uh… Thanks," Breakdown replied, optic wheeling away from the watchful gaze of the medic. Ratchet nodded briefly, mouth tight, then stood and headed out of the medical room without a second glance towards Breakdown. Relief washed over Breakdown, relief that the agony that had been ripping into him for the last few groons was now only a barely noticeable gnawing.

Slowly Breakdown picked himself up from the operating slab, warily glancing around the near empty medical bay. No tools were laid out, and the floor was exceptionally clean. _Too clean… It almost looks like they never have any injured to take care of. Such a difference from the_ Nemesis. _Hmm… Maybe I should look around the rest of the Autobots base, since there is_ nothing _else for me to do._

Shrugging, Breakdown headed out of the medical bay, though he couldn't shake the nervous feeling that was making each one of his strides hesitant and his optic wheel about for any sign of danger. But it wasn't just nervousness that caused his pedes to drag but exhaustion, spurred on by more than a week of little to no recharge, and being hunted by his enemies - both Decepticon and MECH.

Breakdown's steps lead him to the main room of the Autobot base, his pedes freezing at the opening of the hallway that lead to the main room. His optic snapped about, taking in the entire room, and the first thing that came to his mind was how utterly _small_ the Autobots' base was. The base gave off a strange, suffocating feeling to Breakdown - a feeling that Breakdown _hated_. The _Nemesis_ , in comparison to this base, seemed to go on forever and ever - some of Breakdown's Vehicon buddies even joked about getting lost in the _Nemesis_ \- and all the while here was a base that no mech could ever get lost in.

It was definitely a new feeling for Breakdown, this crampy, claustrophobic gnaw at the edge of his processor, and he couldn't imagine being okay with so tight quarters. Breakdown's gaze caught on a path of elevated platforms, and with it a new rush of curiosity. Breakdown approached the nearest bit of elevated platform, which had a puny flight of stairs that lead from the elevated area to the ground floor.

_What is the need for those?_ Breakdown wondered, his gaze tracking the maze of platform that wrapped in front of the display screen and all the way to the edges of the base room. Only when he looked around the base did he realize how empty it was, none of the Autobots were in the room - not even the femme, who was so suspicious of Breakdown.

Not really savoring the idea of being caught wandering about the Autobot base, Breakdown turned, aiming to go back to the medical bay - for the medical bay had been designated his "temporary" room - for a brief rest but the sound of vehicles approaching from behind him caused the blue mech to wheel about.

As he watched, a sleek blue motorcycle and a green vehicle drove through a tunnel at the furthest side of the base, somewhat near the GroundBridge. Breakdown immediately recognized Bulkhead, but the motorcycle - the femme he guessed - was what really drew his attention. Sitting astride her was a human. A fragging _human_.

The human astride the femme slowly limbered off her, ts optics watching the femme transform out of her alt mode and stretch. Her engine rumbled warily as her gaze locked onto Breakdown with unnerving immobility.

"Breakdown," her tone was flush with warning but, finding himself not in the mood to be chatty with the two Autobots, Breakdown headed back towards his temporary quarters. He had only laid one pede to the round when a sudden, high-pitched voice piped up from behind him.

"Whoa! A Decepticon? _Here_? That is _so_ cool! Ah! And look at those awesome battle scars! Did you see the missing eye, Jack? So rugged."

Breakdown's gaze, and chassis, turned slowly, stopping at the sight of a small human standing to near him, optics and mouth wide. Unable to move, for flashes of a different human had sucked his mind into a most hated place, Breakdown could only watch as the small human came right up to him and, without even a pause, rapped a servo against Breakdown's pedes.

The touch was light, merely a brush in actuality but it was a _human_ touch nonetheless and Breakdown suddenly acted. Without pause his shoulder cannon activated, locking onto the human as both of his servos transformed into hammers. The human leapt away from Breakdown, but not fast enough, for he stomped his pede forward, lowering himself until his one optic glared deep into its.

"Don't you _ever_ touch me again, _rat_ , if you know what is best for you. Unlike your Autobot friends, I don't have any qualms about killing a human, and that isn't going to change today." Breakdown rose up, pleasure roaring through his chassis as the human bolted away from him, zipping behind the femme, who looked horrified.

Breakdown shot the femme a glare then Bulkhead, who had been so shocked that he hadn't even moved a servo in protest to Breakdown's threat, then whirled about and stormed back to his quarters.

* * *

Outside the base, night had fallen, but inside it was like day all over again for the Autobots gathered in a tight circle near the display consul.

"I still utterly dislike the idea of a _Decepticon_ \- be he former or not, you never can tell - living in our base. He's the definition of untrustworthy, Optimus," Arcee muttered darkly, optics narrow with distrust.

Bumblebee let out a long string of beeps and trills, agreeing with Arcee and making obvious his discomfort about Breakdown's presence at the base. Bumblebee's optics were wide with worry and Ratchet could practically feel the distress rolling off the scout's chassis.

Bulkhead, who was to the very left of Ratchet, let out a rumbling snarl from his engine. "I agree with both of you. Optimus, you weren't there when Breakdown threatened Miko. I thought he was going to kill her… And I wouldn't have been able to stop him if he tried because…" Bulkhead cut himself off with another growl from his engine, then went quiet.

"Exactly," Arcee snapped, gaze turning to Optimus, who had said nothing so far. "I don't think we should let Breakdown stay much longer. We don't know him, nor can we trust him, and I do not seek to endanger Jack and the others because we went soft and are harboring one of our enemies. Breakdown obviously hates humans and if he realizes how close we are to humans- I shudder to think what he might do."

Optimus nodded respectfully to Arcee then turned to Ratchet, optics guarded. "What is your opinion on this situation Ratchet?"

Ratchet stayed quiet for a few moments, then vented. "I do not know Optimus. I don't trust Breakdown, not at all, but…" Ratchet hesitated for a moment then continued, "None of you were there in the medical bay when I fixed Breakdown's wounds. I was, and I listened to what he was saying. Breakdown told me that he's been alone for more than a week and hasn't just been hunted solely by MECH. He told me that he had to escape a few groups of Decepticons also, all of whom were intent on offlining him right then. Why would Decepticon troops be hunting one of their higher-ups if he was one of them?"

"How do we know that he was, supposedly, attacked by Decepticons though, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked.

"Because I found wounds on Breakdown that were nothing that MECH could do. They were very obviously wounds from an energon-based weapon.

But I still don't know what to think of allowing him amnesty at our base. Breakdown also made it obvious to me while I was fixing his wounds that he does not feel particularly keen in up and joining our group. He said he doesn't trust us."

"That makes three of us then," Arcee sniped quietly. Ratchet gave the femme a cool look, which she shot back with equal fire.

"I understand your sentiments - and fears - all of you, but we will give Breakdown a chance. At least until he is fully healed. Our guest deserves the chance to see what it is like fighting for the good of others once again. He was an Autobot long before he was ever a Decepticon and if we can make him remember why he was first an Autobot, who knows… I believe everyone is capable of change. _Everyone_." Optimus' words rang with finality, and Ratchet knew that the argument was over. Breakdown would stay - for now - and no mech was going to change Optimus' mind.

Arcee and Bulkhead both shared looks of anger and disbelief, but nodded respectfully to Optimus. Bumblebee got up and scurried away, door wings flaring with his emotions. Bulkhead and Arcee followed Bumblebee's suit, though the two disagreeable mechs only walked a short ways away before they started muttering between themselves.

Ratchet turned back to Optimus and, quietly, said, "I hope you haven't made the wrong choice. Harboring Breakdown is not worth losing the respect and trust of our friends."

Optimus looked away from Breakdown, optics unreadable.

"I hope so too…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will post more chapters tomorrow.

Breakdown awoke with a cry, nightmares fading as his optic was flooded by light, by the living world not the world of terror that controlled his thoughts at night. Vents heaving, the blue mech pushed his chassis up into a sitting position on his bed slab, servos curling against his helm tightly.

It took a few moments for Breakdown's processor to remember where he was, resting in the medical bay of the Autobot's base, not in danger but also not safe. The Autobots, technically at least, weren't his enemy anymore as he was not Decepticon, _but old habits die hard_. Ages of listening, and following, the Decepticon propaganda to have utter and full hatred for all Autobots did not leave one swiftly. For that Breakdown couldn't seem to get comfortable in his new "home", though he would not deny that some discomfort came from the open hostility of most of the Autobots.

Shaking himself with a hard shudder to clear his thoughts, Breakdown clambered up off his slab, stretching out his locked up limbs. Pistons wheezed and hissed as he stretched each limb, his engine revving up with a throaty growl. Rolling his shoulder pauldrons, the left one more gingerly than the right, Breakdown's thoughts turned to the past few days.

He had been with the Autobots for two days, two very tense days that included multiple interrogations by the femme, Arcee. Each one of her "meetings" with Breakdown turned into thinly-veiled threats about what she would do to him if he so much as even thought of betraying the Autobots hospitality. Other than the nerve-wracking encounters with Arcee, Breakdown had done all he could to avoid the Autobots, going so far as sneaking into one of their empty weapons vaults and staying there for most of the day. Other than Arcee, Ratchet was the only other Autobot that Breakdown saw on a daily basis, as the old medic came in every day to check on how his wounds were healing.

Growling to himself, Breakdown trudged out of the medical bay, frustration at everything that had happened to him recently threatening to overwhelm his thoughts in a whirlwind of emotions. The sound of a GroundBridge activating snapped Breakdown from the depths of his mind and his gaze shot up, a small note of surprise lighting in his spark that his path had taken him to the base main room. He watched as the four Autobots, minus Ratchet, raced through the GroundBridge, the ancient technology shutting off once the last Autobot had passed through it.

"Where are they going?" Breakdown asked as he walked up to where Ratchet was toiling away at the display monitor's controls.

Ratchet turned his helm towards Breakdown but declined any comment before he turned back to the display screens. Frustrated by the medic's blatant dismissal to Breakdown's question, he turned to leave - he wasn't dumb enough to start pick a fight with any of the Autobots, no matter how much he disliked some of them - but something on the display screen halted his movement. Breakdown started with surprise as a gasp of recognition escaped his mouth.

"The _Harbinger_? Why - How did you get its energy signature to come up?" Breakdown asked, shock hurrying his words. _The_ Harbinger _has been gone for eons… So what is it doing here? On Earth? And why is its energy signature appearing now?_

Ratchet whirled on Breakdown, optics flaring unreadably. "You know of this ship?" Ratchet's voice was cold and Breakdown didn't fail to notice how tense Ratchet was getting, servos clenching tightly.

"Of course I do! The _Harbinger_ is a Decepticon legend, no Decepticon _doesn't_ know of it. Wait… If you Autobots detected the _Harbinger_ 's signal than that means that the Decepticons long know of its whereabouts," Breakdown trailed off at the furious look Ratchet was sending him. "Nevermind."

Breakdown wheeled about and stormed off to the side of the base that had the tunnel that lead outside. A stale breeze of air brushed against Breakdown's chassis and with it, a deep longing for the freedom of the outdoors. Breakdown slumped against the base wall, sliding down until he was sitting, legs splayed out, on the floor of the base. Anger, frustration and longing all battled in Breakdown's spark, tearing deep with unforgiving claws.

_I left the Decepticons because of how betrayed and useless I felt there, but I've just come back to nearly the same thing here. None of the Autobots even want to spare me a chance and every glance they give me is filled with distrust. The Autobots are no better than the Decepticons._

"Hey!"

The sound of a human's shout caused Breakdown's spark to halt momentarily, his optic snapping to his left wildly, desperation causing him to scrabble up from where he had been sitting. Breakdown's optic locked onto the small form of the young human, who had stepped back hurriedly at his rapid movement, unbidden curiosity making her optics alive. Two other humans stood beside the female, one of whom he recognized as Arcee's little pet, though he did not know who the very small one was.

"Stay away from me," Breakdown snarled as he backed away from the three humans, barely biting back the on rush of fear coursing through his chassis.

The young female glanced towards her companions, bewilderment curving her smile into a frown as she looked back at Breakdown.

"Hey, Breakdown… I didn't mean to offend you, I just wanted to ask you something," the girl said, her voice much softer than just a few klicks ago.

The tall male bent down to the female, hissing something to her quietly. When the black-haired human bent back up, the female shot Breakdown an indecipherable glance, then walked off hurriedly towards Ratchet. The other two humans followed suit, though the tall one stayed for a moment longer, watching Breakdown with a calculating gaze until he to ran off after his friends.

With his nerves as on edge as they were, Breakdown began to pace back and forth, optic keeping a close watch on the three humans.

The young female had strode up to Ratchet and said hello, to which the old medic only grumbled a moody response, though the human seemed unfazed by Ratchet's response. She ran up a flight of stairs to Ratchet's left, grabbing something from one of the other humans and bolting right back down the stairs. The tall human suddenly leapt from where he was seated and charged down the stairs after the female.

Breakdown stopped pacing and began to back up, his backstrut hitting the base wall when the human charged right up to him. In her servo was a small black device, shaped like a car wheel, and with a determined look on her face she held out the device to Breakdown.

"Want to race?"

"What?" Breakdown retorted, staring at the strange device in the human's servo. The female tilted her head, not noticing the taller human come from behind and snatch the device straight from her servo.

"Miko! What are you doing? You know what Bulkhead said about," here the human's voice lowered, " _him_. Bulkhead doesn't want you near Breakdown, he might hurt you."

"Oh, come on Jack. Live a little," the girl said as she snatched the wheel-device back from the taller one. "Anyways, if anything happens, which I doubt it will, we have Ratchet here. Now excuse me." Sniffing pointedly, the small human turned on her heel and marched up a flight of stairs to the elevated platform nearest Breakdown. The tall human watched Breakdown warily then followed after the girl's suit.

Breakdown watched the humans go, a vent escaping from his mouth with relief. But the wave of loneliness and confusion that hit Breakdown rocked him backwards. The spunky human, Bulkhead's pet of all humans, seemed so ease with him - Bulkhead's archenemy - and _accepting_.

_Why does she show me kindness?_ Breakdown's thoughts lingered only momentarily, as Ratchet soon assigned him a few tasks to do around the base and, with little reluctance, Breakdown set to work doing them.

* * *

Knock Out's engine purred as his tires slid over hard pavement, sluicing past the race leader and roaring to an assuredly lead. Triumph raced through the red sports car as he dashed over the finish line first, and raced on, ignoring the humans watching him.

_Silly, silly humans. They still believe they can beat me_ , Knock Out thought, taking a sharp turn into a small town called Jasper, Nevada. An unwelcome flush of memories hit Knock Out, memories of the last time he had been in this town. He had fought beside Breakdown that day, his former partner and he dueling against the Autobots. The frame of Knock Out's alt mode rattled with a strange quake at the thought of his former partner.

Everyone on the _Nemesis_ knew that Breakdown had betrayed the Decepticons, though Knock Out had heard much dissent among the Vehicons over Breakdown's betrayal. Some of the troopers fervently denied that Breakdown would betray the Decepticons, even as Starscream reported encountering and fighting Breakdown only two days ago.

Knock Out could still vividly see the fury that blazed through Starscream's optics as he reported his fight with the - as he described Breakdown - _slimy traitor_. Yet to Knock Out, he still could not figure out what his feelings were on Breakdown's defection. He was mad - that was for certain - but _why_ he was so mad was something Knock Out couldn't figure out.

_Am I mad because Breakdown left the Decepticons or is it for some other reason entirely?_ Knock Out pulled himself out of his thoughts as the traffic light ahead of him turned red, the sports car slowing to a halt. His gaze traveled around the cars halted near him, casually watching on a lone white car that drove by him, going east. Inside the car was a woman with dark hair, who was distractedly talking on a small cellular device.

As Knock Out watched the white car, a small rumble of laughter shook from his engine, incited by the sheer idiocy of humans.

_They are great at designing the_ best _cars in the galaxy but they aren't really as bright as they think they are. Far too distracted by_ -

"Knock Out, report! Have you found any evidence of our traitor?" Megatron's voice ripped through Knock Out's stereo, tearing the medic away from his thoughts.

"Uh… No, Lord Megatron. I haven't found anything yet."

Megatron snarled again, though his voice was lower when he next spoke.

"Fine, Knock Out. Keep looking for him and if you see him, _report_ it. I don't fancy you getting any funny ideas."

"No, Lord Megatron. I wouldn't-"

"Good," Megatron snapped, then Knock OUt was greeted by the harsh static of the commlink being cut off. Knock Out's engine growled, his spark flooding with hate - hate for Breakdown.

_Because of him, Megatron thinks I'm going to turn against the Decepticons, just as he did. I am_ not _a traitor like Breakdown, I'm not foolish enough to go against Megatron._

* * *

The familiar sound of cars racing pulled Breakdown's attention to where the three humans sprawled across a small couch, playing some kind of game on the small, boxy monitor. Curious to see what the humans were doing, Breakdown walked up behind them.

"What are you doing?" Breakdown asked cautiously as he placed one of his servos on the guardrail of the platform. His optic watched the small monitor screen, which had two digital cars, one yellow and one red, racing against each other. All three humans jumped at Breakdown's words, the female clicking something that paused the racing cars.

Breakdown tilted his helm slightly, observing how each one of the small humans reacted differently to his presence. The brown-haired one looked very nervous, backing away from the couch till he was positioned behind the dark-haired human. The dark-haired one just watched Breakdown, though the blue mech could easily sense how tense the human was. But then there was the female human. She only expressed excitement at Breakdown's presence, her optics alight with joy.

"Did you come to try a hand at my game, Breakdown?"

"Uh… What?" Breakdown asked, confused by the female human's words. The brown-haired human seemed as confused as Breakdown at her words for her turned a surprised gaze to her.

"Our racing game! Duh!" The female waggled the wheel device near Breakdown, who stepped backwards as a memory of laughing and joking with Knock Out after the Decepticon medic had won yet another human car race. An aching maw of blackness opened up in Breakdown's spark at the thought of his former friend, but he shoved it away angrily.

"I don't play games," Breakdown snapped, though his words were a lie. When he had still been a Decepticon he had played games of all kinds late into the night with his Vehicon pals. But playing games with humans was very different from playing them with a group of mechs he was comfortable with.

"Oh, come on. I'll go easy on you. I promise! Just try it… Please?"

" _No_."

Breakdown's curt reply seemed to deflate the young female for her optics fell and her mouth twisted downwards. Satisfied, Breakdown began to walk away when he heard the female's voice pipe up again.

"Hey, since you won't play with us will you tell us why you and Bulkhead don't get along?"

Vents huffing, Breakdown turned away from the human, pointedly ignoring her question as he marched back in the direction of the medical bay. The soft patter of feet hitting metal informed Breakdown of the human chasing after him.

"Why won't you - _or Bulkhead_ \- tell me? I _want_ to know what's going' on with you two!" As the human girl said this, she leapt in front of Breakdown, who stopped in his steps, engine snarling. Breakdown attempted to step around the human but for every move he made, she countered, leaping and weaving in front of Breakdown.

Breakdown's optic narrowed, temper flaring as the human leapt in his way yet again.

"Get out the way," Breakdown warned as he brushed the human out of his way with shove of his servo. The force of Breakdown shoving the human away sent her crashing to the ground with a sharp cry of pain. Shock raced through Breakdown, and he stepped back from the human swiftly, optic shooting to his left at the hurried sound of pedes charging up to him.

"What did you do?" Ratchet exclaimed, voice edged with worry as the medic moved in front of the fallen human.

"I…"

"We do not harm humans, Breakdown!" Ratchet said as he snatched up the young female, optics flinty. Breakdown's engine rumbled nervously and the blue mech wisely headed back to his quarters.

* * *

The sound of revving engines and angered voices awoke Breakdown from his recharge with a snap. _The others must be back…_ Stretching his shoulder pauldrons out - he winced when he moved his still-injured one - Breakdown clambered off his slab, slinking up quietly to the door of the medical bay.

"Ratchet, did you record the coordinates for the _Harbinger_ into our database?" Optimus Prime asked, tone level as always.

"Of course I did."

"Good."

Breakdown hear Ratchet's engine stall momentarily then catch again as Ratchet spoke. "What happened to all of you?"

"We ran across Starscream and Airachnid on our mission to the _Harbinger_ ," Prime informed.

The sound of the two-wheeler exventing halted the muted rumbling of the Autobots' words. "And I lost us Starscream. If I hadn't been so rash, so set on getting revenge for Cliffjumper than we might still have his promised intel at our servos."

A hollow laugh racked through Breakdown's chassis at the thought that Starscream would ever provide intel with his enemies. _Starscream despises the Autobots almost as much as Megatron, I can't imagine him working with them._

Breakdown rolled his optic and turned away from the door, walking back to the corner of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

The flicker of the human's entertainment consul, being watched by Bulkhead and his human, dispelled the darkness from Breakdown's mind. But darkness was something Breakdown was used to, though that did not mean he was comfortable with the inky blackness of daily life. He had had to grow used to the darkness that walked with his every stride, changed with his every transformation, and which dogged him since the loss of his optic.

And yet the darkness that always followed Breakdown wasn't just from the loss of his optic, but also the darkness of his mind. Breakdown had never been able to escape the terrors that ravaged his mind since he could remember, which had only worsened from the day he had been captured by MECH. Every night he spent at the the Autobot's base Breakdown woke from nightmares of buzzsaws and eerie smiles.

Breakdown's engine idled, tearing his mind from his dark thoughts and back to the current. Boredom and restlessness nipped at his spark, spurred on by two weeks of the same wary glances and the same entrapment. Being locked up within the Autobot base, unable to wander free, did not do good for Breakdown's already low sanity. He had already tried his best to busy his mind with minute jobs, cleaning the medical bay or going all out to avoid the Autobots but it wasn't enough. Breakdown had grown so used to wandering Earth alone with Knock Out, without chains or rules, that he was coming close to snapping.

Needing a distraction, Breakdown pulled himself to his pedes, striding up to where Ratchet was busily poring over his display screens. The image of a strange cylinder was centered focus of the screens, and Ratchet's attention.

As Breakdown turned to ask Ratchet what the cylinder was when the medic suddenly wheeled his gaze in Bulkhead's direction.

"Would you mind lowering the volume?"

Bulkhead turned at Ratchet's words, excitement turning to wariness at the sight of Breakdown standing near Ratchet, though it vanished quickly.

"Hey, Ratch'. Check out the monster truck rally Miko took me to last week."

"I complied some highlights with my cellphone!"

Ratchet made a disgusted noise at the duo's words. "Innocent vehicles battling for the pleasure of human spectators? Bloodsport!" Ratchet said, turning his gaze away from the two with a wracking shudder that ripped through his entire chassis

"Yeah!" Both Bulkhead and his human exclaimed at the same time.

"You could be helping Optimus in the field right now."

"Aw, he doesn't need my help to search for some ancient educational thing-a-ma-bob," Bulkhead replied with a heavy shrug. His gaze turned suspiciously on Breakdown, whose engine began to growl threateningly. "And anyways, someone needs to be here in case you need help."

Engine roaring, Breakdown smashed his pede against the floor and whirled his gaze fully on Bulkhead.

"You don't need to watch over me, Bulkhead. I'm not going to attack Ratchet though, you, on the other servo, I might not do the same."

Bulkhead walked right up to Breakdown, ignoring the video still playing on his consul as his large servos clenched together threateningly. Breakdown's chassis began to boil for a fight, for the chance to vent his frustrations of two weeks locked in the base. Bulkhead looked about ready to lunge at Breakdown - and Breakdown wanted his enemy to so badly - but Ratchet pushed his way between both mechs and shoved them apart forcefully.

"Enough," Ratchet snarled, pushing Breakdown away from him with meaningful glare. Breakdown's engine snarled in response but he turned away from the fight he so badly wanted and backed away a few paces.

Ratchet shook his helm, groaned unhappily. "Now then. The _thing-a-ma-bob_ to which you refer, Bulkhead, happens to be a Cybertronian data cylinder. And there is no telling what vast intelligence it may hold. During the Golden Age, dozens of these cylinders were created, each containing the sum total of Cybertronian knowledge on any given subject. Stellar cartography, medicine, ancient mythology. When the war broke out, the cylinders were hidden throughout the galaxies to keep them as far as possible from Decepticon reach. Detecting one's signal here, on Earth, is the opportunity of a-"

"Ugh, T.M.I dude! And why are you telling us this?" Bulkhead's human snapped, sharing a grouchy look with Bulkhead. Bulkhead crossed his arms, still glaring at Breakdown, while Ratchet rolled his optics skywards.

Ratchet's monitor suddenly beeped with an incoming message, turning both Breakdown and Ratchet's attention back to the monitor.

"Ratchet! Decepticon ambush! The cylinder is at risk, we require back up!"

At Prime's words the young human glanced excitedly towards Bulkhead, who smiled loosely. "Back up is what I'm built for." Bulkhead clashed his servos together then charged away, pedes thundering as he raced through the now active GroundBridge.

Breakdown watched Bulkhead leave then turned as the young human ran to the top of the stairwell.

"Go bend some fenders, Bulk!"

Ratchet walked to the edge of the stairwell, still ignoring Breakdown as he gazed down at the small human. "I have an important mission for you two, Miko."

"Really?" Her excitement didn't stay for long for Ratchet handed her a small stick with a bundle of white string attached to end. The girl's body sagged as she snatched the handle of the stick from Ratchet, optics blazing furiously as she glared at the small stick in her servo. Breakdown caught the small smile that curved over the medic's faceplate as he turned away from the girl and back to his monitor.

The girl sighed, then suddenly tilted her helm in the direction of the still open GroundBridge. Breakdown could almost see the cogs turning in the human's processor as shot between Ratchet - whose back was turned to her - and the GroundBridge.

The moment the human reacted seemed spontaneously, for she bolted down the stairwell, dropping the stick as she raced towards the GroundBridge. Breakdown watched her closely, surprising himself when he suddenly leapt in front of the human. She skidded her pedes into the ground, though she still crashed full force into Breakdown's pede.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Breakdown snarled, snatching the human up with one servo. The human thrashed in his grasp, arms flailing wildly as she turned a scorching glare on Breakdown. Her optics burned with outrage and she scrabbled ineffectively against Breakdown.

"Let me go, Breakdown! I want to witness the battle!"

"Why?"

The girl fought Breakdown for a few more moments then stilled, a tired vent falling from her mouth. "Because I never get to experience anything fun with Bulkhead anymore. He's always saying it's too dangerous for me, or something stupid like that…" Her voice ached with sadness, a sadness Breakdown felt his spark respond to.

_I feel the same way as her…_

Breakdown let out a tired exvent, then slowly, slyly grinned. He glanced in Ratchet's direction, smiling wider at the fact that the medic was totally oblivious to Breakdown and the human.

"Well, human, you aren't the only one who needs to get out of this base. So, I am going with you," Breakdown said, lowering the human to the ground quietly. Both human and mech glanced towards Ratchet and then raced through the GroundBridge.

* * *

When Breakdowns pedes hit solid earth, he couldn't help the surge of utter joy that pulsed through his spark. But that feeling of joy vanished immediately at the sight of the battle before him.

"Stay back, human," Breakdown hissed, glaring at the young female who was standing just behind him. To his surprise she nodded, skittering behind a large boulder as Breakdown turned his gaze back to the battle ensuing in front of him.

The Autobots were fighting five Vehicons, all of whom Breakdown recognized and knew quite well. There were two jets, a helicopter, tank and one car Vehicon, all fighting the Autobots. But it wasn't the fve Vehicons that drew his attention so raptly, but the sight of a familiar, sleek red mech fighting Optimus Prime.

"Knock Out…" Breakdown gasped, a deep ache settling into the core of his spark. He hadn't seen his former friend since before he had defected from the Decepticons, and seeing him just meters away from the blue mech made Breakdown's spark roil with a sea of emotions.

Knock Out paused briefly, his gaze turning away from Optimus and catching onto Breakdown. The Decepticon flinched visibly, optics widening as his mouth fell open.

"Breakdown?" Knock Out hissed, attention focused solely on Breakdown so that he missed the punch from Optimus Prime. The red Decepticon was sent flying, skidding across the ground with a pained cry.

"Knock Out!" The cry escaped from Breakdown before he could even think, fear for his old friend taking control of his actions. Breakdown charged forwards to help Knock Out and was promptly crashed into by the Deceptions tank soldier. The force of the Decepticon hitting into Breakdown threw him off his pedes, crashing to the ground with grunt of shock blowing from his vents.

Breakdown scrabbled wildly for a purchase in the Decepticon's chassis, to throw his opponent off but his efforts were futile. One of the Decepticon's clawed servos drove into Breakdown's chassis, digging through metal as the Decepticon began to press all of its weight onto Breakdown. Again Breakdown attempted to escape the Decepticon's hold, but the Decepticon soldier was far too heavy for Breakdown to move off, especially with it pushing all of its weight onto Breakdown's chassis.

Suddenly Breakdown noticed the Decepticons other servo, raised over the left side of Breakdown's helm, clawed tips poised. Breakdown watched as a cruel smile ripped over the Decepticon's faceplate.

"The traitor always dies in the end, _Breakdown_." The Decepticon hissed, then plunged its claws into Breakdown's faceplate, smothering him in darkness as pain blazed from where its claws had dug into his faceplate. Breakdown's screams of pain were met only by jarring laughter of the Decepticon, who slowly, tortuously began to pull its claws together in Breakdown's helm.

_Its trying to rip my other optic out_ , Breakdown suddenly realized. _I won't let it_

Rage, feral and beast-like, suddenly took over Breakdown's mind and with it his actions. Roaring, Breakdown smashed his loose servo straight into the hard metal of the Decepticon pinning him to the ground. A shriek of pain echoed from above Breakdown, followed closely by another, more powerful punch from Breakdown's servo. Breakdown's crazed mind didn't even seem to notice the fire that ripped through his helm as the Decepticon's servo was ripped from his faceplate, leaving the blue mech with sight again - though it was blurred from traces of energon falling down his faceplate.

With the savage feralness still coursing through Breakdown's chassis, he leapt onto his pedes, engine purring for more destruction. Loosening up his shoulder pauldrons with a quick roll, Breakdown began to advance on the Decepticon tank standing before him.

The purple Decepticon's right sideplate, just beneath its ridged chestplate, had a gaping hole in it, wires sparking amongst the crushed metal. Energon pooled down the soldier's sides in thick rivulets, puddling at its shaking pedes. Its servo, once pressed against Breakdown was now raised to the wound in its side, though the clawed metal was shaking visibly. The Decepticon slowly tilted its helm upwards, optics glazing over slowly, though fear pulsed through them at the sight of Breakdown advancing on it, wicked smile carved over the blue mech's faceplate.

Breakdown's engine purred with a hungry pleasure as the Decepticon soldier's legs shook from underneath it, then promptly collapsed. The Decepticon fell onto its chestplate, helm hitting the hard ground with a harsh clang. Energon began to pool out from under the severely wounded Decepticon, flooding the earth with an unnatural blue color.

Breakdown's servo transformed into a hammer as he stopped above the injured Decepticon, who looked up at him, optics fearful. A sudden flash of pulsing red light coming from his left shook the feral drive from Breakdown and replaced it with cold horror at the sight of the injured Decepticon laying before him.

"Shockblast?" Breakdown whispered, horror clamping down onto him as he bent down next to the Decepticon. No answer came from the Decepticon, nor did his visor glow with red light, and Breakdown knew. _I killed him_ …

Breakdown leapt back to his feet, stumbling backwards to get as far from the dead Decepticon as he could.

"Miko!" Bulkhead's cry drew Breakdown's frantic gaze to the green mech, who was standing near a large cylinder which was pulsing with red light. Lying near the cylinder was Bulkhead's human, who was staring at the cylinder nervously. Bulkhead charged towards the cylinder, concentration so fixed on his human that he missed the blow from the Decepticon helicopter - her name was Backwash - which sent the green mech to the ground with a resolute crash. Bulkhead's helm tilted upwards in time for a stream of red light to pulse into the middle of his helm, stilling any movement from Bulkhead.

Silence fell over the two warring factions for a few moments until Knock Out picked up the cylinder with his servos. The Decepticon medic's gaze shifted onto Breakdown and stayed there for a few more moments until it shifted to the whole of the Autobots.

"Thanks for taking one for the team Bulkhead. The _winning_ team," Knock Out drawled, turning and charging through a GroundBridge that opened right behind him. Knock Out was followed closely by the grounder Vehicon while the three Vehicons capable of flight transformed and took off, fleeing the battlefield.

The Decepticon GroundBridge faded away, leaving Breakdown confused and lost. Seeing Knock Out, the mech whom Breakdown had always considered a good friend, and not fighting alongside the sports car was very odd feeling. For a brief moment doubt prickled at the back of Breakdown's mind, doubts about working with the Autobots, but they did not stay long as Optimus Prime's voice snapped his attention elsewhere.

"Breakdown, let's go." Breakdown turned his helm towards Prime, who was signaling him to the GroundBridge that had opened behind the Autobot leader. Time seemed to still as Breakdown turned his gaze back to the dead form of Shockblast, then in the direction where the Decepticons had fled, until it stopped on the Autobot's GroundBridge.

Vents puffing, and optic lowered, Breakdown wheeled in Prime's direction, rushing through the GroundBridge without a second glance back.

* * *

"What were you thinking bringing Miko with you? And why were you outside of the base, Breakdown?" Arcee snarled as she slowly advanced on Breakdown. The kibble on the two-wheelers back flared to the sides stiffly, her optics blazing with outrage that mirrored the expressions of the rest of the Autobots around him.

Breakdown glanced away from the femme's enraged expression nervously. After the Autobots and Breakdown had returned to base and checked Bulkhead over, they had all turned on Breakdown and were now formed in a tight half-circle around him.

"I… I'm sorry," Breakdown muttered, servos clenching and unclenching nervously as stress and fear gnawed away at his spark. The heavy hiss of steam escaping vents alerted Breakdown to Prime - who was standing to his right - so Breakdown turned his helm in the Autobot leader's direction.

"Breakdown, we have allowed you safe refuge in our base, so long as you followed our rules. And one of those rules that that we _never_ harm humans."

"But the human _wasn't_ harmed! And she wanted to go-"

"That doesn't justify you bringing her in harm's way," Arcee snapped, concern flashing through her optics.

"I-" Breakdown shut his mouth, biting off the apology forming in his words, and whipped his gaze away from the Autobots. _They don't deserve an apology and I don't have to give them one._

"Hey! Come look at what Bulkhead is painting!" The voice of the human girl interrupted Breakdown's thoughts and drew the attention of each Autobot and the former Decepticon.

"Yes, I'm sure one hasn't truly lived until one has beheld Bulkhead's take on still life with lugnuts," Ratchet said sarcastically as the group followed the girl. She led them around a corner and pointed to where Bulkhead was busying painting something on the metal sidings of one of the elevated platforms in the base.

Breakdown recognized the sloping scrawls almost immediately.

"That's a formula," Breakdown said at the same time as Ratchet said, "That is not art. It's _science_."

Every mech turned and stared at Breakdown, who stepped backwards hurriedly. Arcee looked positively confused, while Ratchet and Prime both had questioning looks on their faceplates. Embarrassed, and still feeling a jumble of nerves, Breakdown mouthed an apology and fled.

* * *

Breakdown strode out of the medical bay and into the main room of the base. The base was darkly lit and eerily quiet, though the quiet was broken briefly by the clicking of monitors from Ratchet, who also happened to be the only other mech in the room. There was no sign of Bulkhead or his human, for that matter, inside the base.

"Where are those two?" Breakdown muttered, optic wheeling about the base. _No sign of either of them… Ratchet won't be pleased._

"Hey, Ratchet, I think Bulkhead and his human are missing," Breakdown said cooly, keeping his tone passive. Ratchet wheeled about at Breakdown's words, dropping a slab of metal he had been holding as his optics hastily searched through the base.

"Frag! Mio must have taken him away," Ratchet muttered, a dark look flooding through his optics. The medic turned his back on Breakdown, hurriedly typing something into the HUDs control monitor. Soon a set of coordinates appeared on the screen.

"I'll have to tell Optimus, It isn't safe for Bulkhead to be out in his condition," Ratchet said hurriedly, "and with no one here to go find Bul-"

"I'll go," Breakdown volunteered, without a hint of hesitation. _If the Autobots are to someday accept me, I have to start showing them they can trust me._

Ratchet stared at Breakdown for a few moments, expression unreadable as ice, then slowly nodded to Breakdown curtly. The Autobot medic walked up to the GroundBridge control, glancing back at Breakdown for a second, then pulled the lever. Breakdown walked to the entrance of the GroundBridge then cast a glance back to Ratchet, who was watching him suspiciously.

Shaking his helm, Breakdown turned and walked into the GroundBridge.

* * *

Breakdown stomped past a long row of monster trucks, frustration chittering through his engine.

_Where is that damned Autobot and his idiot human?_ Breakdown thought as he angrily kicked one of the monster trucks, sending the vehicle flying. The truck crashed to the ground loudly, causing Breakdown to flinch backwards and dive behind another monster truck, warily looking over the top of the truck. Breakdown didn't expect to see anything when he looked so when he saw a very familiar red mech appear from a large tunnel, shock coursed through his veins.

Knock Out was alone, without even a Vehicon for backup, or at least that was what Breakdown's scanner was telling him. Breakdown couldn't drag his gaze away from the Decepticon medic so it was with a leaden spark that he watched the changing moods flash over Knock Out's faceplate.

The medic turned his helm to the right, optics glittering for the briefest moment until it was masked by darkness with a growl of his engine. Knock Out's servos clenched and he marched forward, silently striding through the rows of trucks in the parking lot. The Decepticon paused at a large truck, servos lifting the heavy machine as his helm titled, gaze searching, under the truck. Knock Out growled, dropping the machine back onto its tires as he straightened up.

Breakdown ducked down cautiously, though he did keep his optic on Knock Out. Knock Out had pulled out a scanner and was looking at it, optics wheeling right onto Breakdown's location. Knock Out's helm tilted sideways as he began to stalk towards Breakdown's hiding place. Before Knock Out got any closer to Breakdown though, he halted and snapped his gaze to the right. Breakdown followed Knock Out's gaze, narrowing his optic at the sight of Bulkhead, babbling away.

"Well it is nice to see you Bulkhead," Knock Out hissed as he approached Bulkhead. The green mech looked towards Knock Out and prombtly flicked the dripping end of the stick against the flawless red mesh of Knock Out's chest plate. Knock Out's mouth shook, his servos twitching, at the paint now splattering down his chestplate.

"You painted my paintjob! Prepare for _surgery_!" Knock Out snarled as he transformed his left servo into a buzzsaw, optics slit with a savage light. The Decepticon raised his servo, plunging-

"No!" The cry didn't come from Breakdown, but from Bulkhead's human, who had just skidding out from behind another truck, furiously charging towards Knock Out. Knock Out snarled as she neared him, then swung his servo straight into her body, sending her hurtling across the ground.

Breakdown stood rapt, unable to move, as he watched the girl attempt to rise from her position, red energon leaking from scrapes on her arms. Slowly she rose from where she had fallen, limbs shaking as she rose to her pedes and sent a deathly glare towards Knock Out.

_Her resilience is… it is remarkable indeed._

"Stay away from Bulkhead!" Her voice was choppy, broken with pain though she tried her best to block it out. Knock Out ignored the girl, turning his buzzsaw back on Bulkhead, who had begun scribbling more equations onto the sides of the monster trucks.

Knock Out's buzzsaw activated again and, again he his buzzsaw towards Bulkhead's helm.

"Knock Out!" Breakdown leapt, smashing his entire chassis into Knock Out's before the red mech could drive the point of his drill into Bulkhead. Knock Out stumbled sideways, servos slashing wildly, just briefly cutting across Breakdown's chestplate.

Knock Out recovered with a shake of his helm and, without a word, slashed his buzzsaw towards Breakdown. Breakdown jumped away from the whirling blade, transforming his own servos into hammers. Both mechs, once on the same side, paced around each other, engines snarling a battlecry to each other.

"Fancy seeing you again, Breakdown," Knock Out hissed, optics tracking Breakdown's every movement. Breakdown said nothing in response, though he halted in front of Bulkhead and his human. Knock Out's optics widened in surprise, then he scoffed.

"So… You _protect_ humans now? And your enemy? My, how far you have fallen." Knock Out had always know how to rile Breakdown up and today was no different. Anger overtook Breakdown's senses and, with a loud roar, Breakdown lunged towards Knock Out.

Knock Out tensed himself up for Breakdown's lunge mid stride, letting out a roar as he swung his buzzsaw towards Breakdown's charging figure.

A harsh screech of metal cutting through metal came moments before Breakdown felt white-hot pain blaze through his helm. Howling in pain, Breakdown stumbled backwards, servo clutched over his faceplate. Energon pooled down his faceplate ceaselessly, rivulets of the life sustaining substance leaving behind a cool, eerie feeling as it dribbled down Breakdown's faceplate.

Breakdown wiped at the energon falling from his faceplate furiously, but was met only by darkness. _I'm blind!_ Sound seemed to fade into the background at the feared realization that he had lost what remained of his sight. Desperation began to make Breakdown's entire chassis shake forcefully, thoughts wheeling about without pause.

Faintly, Breakdown heard the girl scream Bullhead's name, followed by an odd, high-pitched whirring noise. Soon after, Breakdown heard the familiar sound of Knock Out's buzzsaw shrieking to his left, then suddenly the distant chime of a GroundBridge activating. A cacophony of confusing noise tore into Breakdown's audials, that of energon blasts, thundering pedes, a distant crash and then silence.

A servo pressed against Breakdown, steading his shaking, a voice sounding distantly, and then Breakdown lost conscious.

* * *

Breakdown awoke to the solid tapping of metal against metal. Light flooded into his optic harshly, with him crying out and ducking away from the bright light.

"Easy, Breakdown. You've been out for awhile. Miko was worried about you," Ratchet voice was soft as the old Autobot rose from his station beside Breakdown, stashing a tool in his kit swiftly.

"How are they?"

Ratchet shrugged. "They are fine. Bulkhead's been taken care of, he's back to normal, and Miko's in the human hospital being treated for mild scrapes."

"I see…" Breakdown murmured, wincing as a small flash of pain coursed through his helm. Breakdown pulled his servo away from his helm and turned to Ratchet.

"What happened to me?" Breakdown asked softly, servo gently touching the left side of his helm. It felt odd, like like it had been remeshed, and small traces of energon rubbed away with his touch.

Ratchet glanced towards Breakdown, handing over a large piece of reflective metal. "Look for yourself," Ratchet said as he carefully put the rest of his medical tools into his kit.

Breakdown lifted the metal up till he could see his reflection. A quiet thrum escaped from his engine at what he saw.

A new scar ripped from the lower right side of his chin and arced up above his left optic. The metal of his scar was jagged and chewed into, and Breakdown immediately knew that the scar had come from Knock Out's buzzsaw.

Breakdown looked away from the metal, catching Ratchet's optics on accident. Ratchet heaved a deep vent and placed a gentle servo on Breakdown's shoulder. Breakdown looked up into the medic's optics, surprised by the gentleness in his gaze.

"I'm going to give you some time. If you need anything just call."

"Uh… Tha… Thanks, Ratchet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote this chapter I had to rewatch T.M.I a few times and in doing so I realized something. If it weren't for Breakdown and Miko, Bulkhead would never have gotten the information for the Synth-en in his head (and thus the formula) and then Ratchet would never have done what he did in Stronger, Faster which led to Knock Out getting a drop of Synth-en, and eventually healing Cybertron.
> 
> So long story short, it's all Breakdown and Miko's fault that Cybertron was able to be revived. Thanks you two!


	9. Chapter 9

_Haunting echoes, hollow and eerie, opened up the blackness of night. Wandering amongst the darkness was a solitary blue mech, yellow optics flashing warily. He felt something following him, tracking him from what remained of the darkness, but he could not - no matter how hard he looked - find his stalker._

_The rumble of tank tracks was his only warning before a large, purple mech charged in front of him._

_Its optics were dead, and pieces of metal dripped like liquid from a huge hole in its side. A crooked frown, grim in nature, showed no emotion except hate, cross over its faceplate._

" _You… killed me… Weren't we_ friends _?"_

_Steps backward, nerves flaring, "Shockblast- I-"_

_Before the blue mech could explain himself - or defend himself - the tank mech lunged forward, servo flashing forward-_

Breakdown snapped awake, servos instinctively blocking the perceived attack from the Vehicon in his nightmares. Four days had passed since Breakdown had fought alongside the Autobots - and killed Shockblast. He had been unable to stop thinking about the Vehicon, the faint look of betrayal that Shockblast had given him before the Vehicon had died.

Slowly Breakdown raised himself up into a seated position, pressing his servos against his helm with a shuddering exvent. Hatred ate at the core of his spark, hatred for himself and what he had done. Killing Autobots - at least before he had been given refuge by them - had been a normal thing for Breakdown to do, but killing a Vehicon?

_I fought so hard to change how everyone in the Decepticon high-rank saw the Vehicons, and now I killed one. I-_

Breakdown was pulled from his thoughts - which were quickly turning his mind into a mire of blackness - when a flash of pain tore through Breakdown's helm.

The scar that Breakdown had received when he was trying to protect Bulkhead from Knock Out had been bothering him recently. Every day it felt like fire, no matter how much energon salve Breakdown would apply to it. Yet, deep down Breakdown knew the pain wasn't physical but one that festered deep within his spark, a scar that blossomed within from the bite of Knock Out's buzzsaw. He had gotten his new scar from a mech he had once considered a close friend, but now? Now, there was nothing but a shattered bridge between the two mechs and that was what made Breakdown's scar flare with pain every day.

Venting, Breakdown stood, striding out from the medical bay - more than two weeks within the Autobot base and they still didn't trust him enough to give him a real room in the base - and into the base's main room.

Inside the large room Ratchet was busily stooped over a microscope while the brown-haired human looked on. The old mech had been like this since Bulkhead's incident with the data cylinder, as Ratchet was hard at work making a formula for the synthetic energon Bulkhead had transcribed.

Not wanting to incur the wrath of Ratchet for interrupting his work, Breakdown headed over to where the rest of the Autobots were milling about, though he did not join them. He leaned against the base wall, accessing his data streams when he heard the voice of Bulkhead's human call out to him.

"Hi, Breakdown!" Breakdown switched off his data streams and turned his helm towards the female. She was standing to the left of him on part of the elevated platform, giving him a toothy grin, which he did not return though Breakdown did roll his optic lightly.

Bulkhead's gaze locked onto Breakdown and his human, but it did not linger long as the green mech turned his gaze away from Breakdown uninterestedly. Since Prime had informed Bulkhead that Breakdown had gone to save him a few days ago, the former Wrecker had grown less hostile around Breakdown. It was odd to not have his old enemy act… well, like an enemy. Yet, even though Bulkhead had dropped his hostility to Breakdown, Breakdown himself wouldn't so quickly give up his dislike for Bulkhead. But Breakdown was wise enough to keep his thoughts, and feelings, to himself.

Bulkhead's human straddled the guard railing near Breakdown, her optics falling to a small pink device that she had pulled from a pocket. Breakdown turned his attention back to his data streams, poring over them until a warning blare came from the base's sensors. Breakdown snapped his gaze to the display screen, watching as Ratchet moved to the consul and shut off the wailing sensors.

"What's going on?" Bulkhead asked as the rest of the Autobots all gathered around Ratchet.

"Sensors are picking up energon movement a hundred miles from our location. And the thing moving are two Decepticons."

"We need that energon," Arcee muttered quietly, turning to Optimus who nodded his assent.

"Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee, with me. We will head our enemy, and do whatever we can to get that energon."

Breakdown snorted moodily, drawing the attention of the rest of the Autobots. "What about me? I can help too, you know."

"No, Breakdown. We need someone else here at the base, just in case the energon signal is a trap," Prime said, his tone cutting off Breakdown's rising protest. Breakdown turned his helm away from the Autobots, displeasure eating into his spark.

"Fine," Breakdown snapped, storming away from the Autobots, ignoring their calls for him to come back.

_They don't "need someone at the base"._ Pahh… _More like they don't trust me. Predictable._

* * *

Breakdown watched the Autobots and - was that _Ratchet_ \- walk through the GroundBridge, a very un-Ratchet-like smile hooking over the medic's faceplate.

"What happened?" The little brown-haired human asked, moving to the edge of the platform he was standing on.

"I only saw the gory aftermath, but I hear the Doc was a one-bot wrecking machine!" Bulkhead announced, servos clenching excitedly. Ratchet stepped forward and picked up the human, who let out a gasp of shock as Ratchet moved him close to his helm.

"Hey, little fella," Ratchet said - Breakdown almost gagged at the way Ratchet said _fella_ \- then the medic placed the human back on the platform.

As Ratchet moved away, the rest of the Autobots all moved up.

"Ok, what's your secret?" Arcee asked Artchet. Ratchet shook his helm, _green_ optics shifting to a tray of glowing green canisters.

"No secret, just a little something I like to call… _Synth-en_." Ratchet plucked one of the canisters from its holding place in the tray and chucked it to Arcee, who caught it deftly.

"From the data Bulkhead transcribed? I thought the formula was-"

"Incomplete? HA. Not anymore," Ratchet scoffed. Bumblebee bent to stare into the green liquid, beeping languidly as he passed the canister to Bulkhead.

"So ratchet makes a better tough guy than I do a smart guy?" Bulkhead questioned, passing the canister finally to Optimus.

"Ratchet, I question the wisdom of using yourself as a test subject."

"Optimus, you didn't see Ratchet out there, he was in _overdrive_! We should _all_ try this stuff!"

Breakdown stepped back harshly from the span of Autobots, engine growling quietly at the thought, the _idea_ , of willingly testing some unknown substance on himself. But Bulkhead speaking up gave Breakdown cause to halt in his hurried retreat.

"Or give ratchet more of this stuff so we can take a vacation!"

"I agree that the initial results seem promising but I recommend that further testing be confined to machines, not Autobots. Outnumbered though we may be, old friend, we need a warrior here in the laboratory right now, more than we need another in the field."

Ratchet glanced away from Prime, and it was only for a brief moment that Breakdown saw a flash of frustration cross over the medic's faceplate.

* * *

The sudden, resounding echo of something crashing into the base's walls snapped Breakdown's attention away from the datapad he had been reading. He hurried to his pedes and slid open the door to his quarters, glancing around until he spotted Bumblebee and Arcee both staring down one of the tunnel ways. Curious, Breakdown walked up to the two of them and glanced around the corner too to see Bulkhead laying upoide down against a section of the base wall.

"What was that?" Arcee snapped, walking around the corner with her servos pressed against her sides. Bumblebee followed her and, with a roll of his optic, Breakdown did too.

"Uh…" Bulkhead's only reply was, which was followed quickly by Ratchet's oddly smug voice.

"You have competition Bulk, I'm a bit stronger than I used to be," Ratchet said this as he stepped over a large hole in the wall opposite Bulkhead, servos clenching and cracking against each other. "And faster!" Ratchet barked, swinging a fist towards Bumblebee, who moved back just in time, chassis rigid with shock.

"Think you can take me muscle car?" Bumblebee hurriedly raised his servos, beeping and waving them in a non-threatening display in response to Ratchet's question. Ratchet snorted, tilting his helm sideways in disgust and he walked away from the young scout.

" _Wimp_."

Ratchet kept walking, passing Arcee and clicking at her oddly.

"How's it hummin'?"

Ratchet strood away and Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead all watched him leave.

"Did he just...?" Arcee asked, her voice odd and her kibble lowered slightly.

"Stronger, faster, _studlier_ ," Bulkhead offered up, though he seemed just as confused as the rest of the Autobots, and Breakdown.

Ratchet halted at a barely cracked pair of doors, pushing them apart with his servos. "I need to be at the top of my game." Ratchet plucked up an injection tube that was filled with the green Synth-en, "our survival depends upon it."

With those final words the medic injected himself with the Synth-en, helm tilting back and optics flaring ever so briefly as the Synth-en began its course through his veins.

Breakdown glanced sideways, meeting the worried gaze of Bulkhead for the briefest moment before he turned away from the former Wrecker, helm shaking slightly as he headed away from the three Autobots.

* * *

Breakdown thundered after Ratchet, Prime, Arcee and Bulkhead, dust flying from each stride of each mech as they ran down a steep hill. Breakdown had been surprised when Prime had contacted him through the comms and told him to come with them on a mission, though the Autobot leader hadn't told him what kind of mission they were going on. But at the moment Breakdown didn't care, he was just glad to be outside the base again… And to see the Autobot leader lowering his guarded distrust of Breakdown ever so slightly.

Ratchet had opened a wide lead from Breakdown and the Autobots and by the time the four mechs had crested a small rise in the hill, Ratchet had sprung from a creaking tree, landing and diving behind a large rock. Breakdown skidded to a halt alongside Arcee, who was standing near Prime, watching Ratchet.

Ratchet twisted himself about the rock, optics falling down the brief canyon and to the sound of harsh drilling.

_Wait… I know that sound…_

"Uh, signal's weak. They may have hit a vein but they won't find much of an energon pulse. Not here," Bulkhead said, turning to look directly at Prime and Arcee. Breakdown watched Arcee as she adjusted herself slightly, servos tightening onto the rock before her.

"I take some comfort in the fact that Megatron seems as desperate to find this stuff as we are," she said, flicking out on servo as she gazed up towards Prime.

"Do you two _always_ talk this much during these missions?" Ratchet snarled, standing up to his pedes and leaping over the edge of the canyon. The sound of the medic transforming into his alt mode and then throttling down the cliff caused each of the Autobots to react, following after their medic. But Breakdown hesitated, for he had quickly gathered what kind of mission this was turning into and he did not wish to partake in the murder of Vehicons. Breakdown paced to the edge of the cliff and watched as Ratchet and the Autobots charged into battle against a small group of Vehicons.

_But we aren't on the same side anymore, and if I want the Autobots to treat me like they treat each other, I need to show them I will fight my former side._

_But the Vehicons are- were my friends-_

Breakdown's thoughts were ripped from his mind at a sharp cry echoing through the canyon ceaselessly. His gaze whipped towards the sound of the shout, and it didn't take him long to meet up with the rest of the Autobots. The four of them raced to a cliff wall and began clambering up it, following the cries of pain until they reached the top of the cliff.

Horror stilled the steps of each mech, especially Breakdown's, at the sight before them. Ratchet was hovering over a Vehicon miner, sparks flying with the harsh sound of Ratchet's welder burning into metal. The Vehicon's servo flopped to the ground as Ratchet deactivated his welding torch, tilting himself up ever so slightly.

"Now, was that so difficult?" Ratchet hissed, switching his servo into a short blade. The insane medic raised his transformed servo, optics locked solely on the burned metal of the Vehicon miner - _is that Littleshear?_ \- and plunged.

"RATCHET!" Prime had moved before Breakdown could even begin to react and was holding back Ratchet's servo. "What are you doing?"

Ratchet pulled his servo from Prime's grasp, wielding a cold glare towards the Autobot leader. Littleshear rose to his pedes, fell to his all fours momentarily, servos scrambling for a purchase against the ground, and then bolted.

"Getting results," Ratchet snapped.

" _And_ breaking protocol. _That_ was a Decepticon miner, servant class _not_ warrior class," Prime reminded, the tone of his voice dark and heavy.

" _Oh_ , and let me guess. I'm just a _medic_ ," Ratchet snapped in reply, burning green optics blazing in narrow slits.

"Autobots do not inflict harm unless all other options have been exhausted. It is what separates us from the Decepticons," Prime said, leaning ever so closer to Ratchet.

Anger tugged at Breakdown's spark, anger towards the words Prime was saying. _What_ other _options? Is killing Vehicons without a single other thought_ every option _?_

But Breakdown couldn't voice his feelings for Ratchet suddenly let out a loud _pfft_.

"Heh! Is this _really_ the time for another lecture, Optimus? You didn't just happen to discover Megatron's current location, did you? Well _I_ did! And do you happen to know where there's a stockpile of raw energon right for the taking? I do!"

"Come on, Ratchet, calm it down," Bulkhead urged, pressing a servo against Ratchet in an attempt to stop the medic's coming rampage.

_Let him rage_ , Breakdown thought coldly, a yawning chasm of distance opening between Breakdown and the Autobots.

"Calm is the last thing we need. Calm is what lost us Cybertron. The 'Cons have a warship, an army, all this energon scouting. You think Megatron isn't gearing up for something big? We're squandering our resources chasing after his crumbs, when we really need to be hitting him hard and hitting him _now_! _Precisely_ where it hurts!"

"A direct assault on the Decepticons would only provoke retaliation and lead to incalculable losses. I will not endanger innocent human lives."

Disbelief sparked in Ratchet's optics at the same time as it raged through Breakdown's spark.

Human _lives? Is that all that matters to Prime?_ Humans?!

"Yet you seem to have no problem endangering ours. Just ask Cliffjumper. _Oh_ , I forgot he couldn't be here today!" Ratchet snarled, flicking his right servo away from them all, as if indicating a distant being behind him.

Breakdown wondered ever so briefly who this Cliffjumper guy was until Arcee suddenly reached.

" _That_ 's it!" Arcee lunged for Ratchet, but Bulkhead snatched her back, holding each of her arms in his servos so she couldn't g for Ratchet.

Ratchet turned his gaze away from the blue femme, locking those odd green optics back onto Optimus Prime. "You know your problem, Optimus? For such a big strong 'bot, you're _soft_. You didn't pound Megatron into scrap when you had the chance. Many chances in fact!"

Prime looked away from the medic briefly, closing his optics without sound. "I'm afraid that the synthetic energon has impaired your judgement, old friend. I am confining you to base until further notice. Bumblebee," Breakdown watched Ratchet's reaction intently, noticing how quickly the medic glanced away, optics flashing for the briefest of moments with something, "Bridge us back."

As the green portal snapped open, Bulkhead released Arcee from his grasp, and the two of them watched Ratchet, disbelief obvious in their expressions. Ratchet looked up briefly then released a loud vent.

"Fine." Ratchet said this despondently, his servos falling to his sides as he marched into the Ground Bridge, without a secondary glance back to the Autobots.

Breakdown stepped away from the Bridge, tensing as a nagging suspicion began to take over his mind. None of the other Autobots seemed to share the same feeling for Arcee shrugged and Bulkhead walked up to the GroundBridge without hesitation. But before the green mech could even step into the Bridge Ratchet came bursting out, hooking his arms over Bulkhead and then throwing Bulkhead to Prime's feet.

Breakdown wheeled about, watching as Ratchet transformed into his alt mode and charged away, leaving behind a trail of dust and confusion. Breakdown looked towards Prime, watching the Prime narrow his optics after Ratchet.

* * *

"Can't get a fix on Ratchet's coordinates," Arcee muttered, servos tightening on the monitor of the base's HUDs.

"That bogus energon must be scrambling his signal," Bulkhead grumbled, gaze flashing to Breakdown for a moment then to Prime's.

"Keep trying. We've got to find Ratchet, before he finds Megaton." Prime gazed upward, each of his Autobots following suit.

Breakdown glanced towards the HUDs screen, _if I knew where we were when Ratchet ran off, I could figure out which mine Littleshear told Ratchet to go to. I could- No. They wouldn't believe me._

Breakdown pushed his thoughts away, turned his gaze back to the Autobots and waited.

A sudden high pinging pulled the attention of every mech inside the base to the now alive HUDs.

"Optimus, Ratchet's signal! It's back online," Arcee pointed out. Prime wheeled his gaze on Bumblebee, who tightened his stance under the leader's gaze.

"Bumblebee-"

"I can do the GroundBridge," Breakdown interrupted, satisfaction snapping through his spark at the singular movement of each Autobot's shocked gaze falling on him. "I would suggest you bring four of you to this mine, it is quite a large one indeed. And anyways, I don't think it would be smart for a wanted ex-Decepticon to wander willingly into a Decepticon influxed mine. Just saying."

To Breakdown's surprise Prime didn't refuse, indicating Breakdown to deal with the GroundBridge and switch places with Bumblebee. Breakdown walked up to the Bridge controls, pulling the activation lever as he turned his gaze to the Autobots.

Prime watched him ever so briefly then whipped around and charged into the Bridge. "Autobots, roll out!"

The Bridge snapped shut once Bumblebee had completely passed through it, but Breakdown could not peel his gaze away.

_I didn't go with them because I don't trust myself around the Decepticons… I know them all to well. I can't kill them just to save an Autobot..._

* * *

"Breakdown, we need you to open up a Bridge to our coordinates."

"On it." Breakdown said as he hurried up to the GroundBridge control, typing in the Autobot's coordinates. He watched as the Bridge activated in a flurry of pulsing green. It stayed open for a few moments, empty, until the sleek form of Arcee charged through.

Her optics snapped around the base wildly, halting at the medical bay. She rushed up to it, clearing away one of the slaps with rapid swipes of her servos. Breakdown stepped towards Arcee, helm tilting at her furious movements.

"Hey… What are you doing? Is someone hurt?"

Arcee whirled her gaze on Breakdown, mouth opening when the GroundBridge thrummed with the sound of more mechs coming through it.

"It's Ratchet…" the femme breathed, engine throttling as Prime and Bulkhead came through the GroundBridge, both carrying Ratchet. The orange medic had very noticeable streaks of Energon coursing down his sides, all from a heavily bruised section of his chestplate armor. The metal was dented in, almost like some great force had smashed right into the old mech's chestplate.

Arcee ran up to the two Autobots carrying Ratchet, indicating the medical slab she had cleared away. Prime nodded swiftly and, with Bulkhead barely matching each of the leader's lengthy strides, carried Ratchet's still form to the slab.

Breakdown hurried back from the injured mech and his companions, hoping they would be go distracted by Ratchet's injuries to notice him edging away from all of the commotion. His gaze was drawn to the tunnel that led outside of the base and with it, a yearning urge to run. Now could be his chance to escape the Autobots, escape them for freedom, freedom fat away from the war - and MECH.

But something else drew his gaze back to the Autobots.

Bumblebee was standing, rigid, in a corner, optics distant. Bulkhead had moved away from Ratchet's injured chassis, but the green mdch still kept his gaze on the medic. Arcee herself was scrambling about, servos almost a blur as she tried fruitless to help Ratchet. And then there was Prime. The Autobot leader looked lost, his expression agonized as he looked down on Ratchet.

_None of these fools know a thing about fixing major injuries do they?_

An old instinct - and the quiet, sickening memory of what he had done to Shockblast - took over and with it urging him on, Breakdown moved. He rushed past Bumblebee - the scout didn't notice him - and moved past Bulkhead, who instantly tensed up as Breakdown swept by him.

"Move!" Breakdown snapped, causing both Arcee and Prime to snap their gazes away from Ratchet and onto him.

"What?" Arcee began to question as Breakdown swiftly pulled a large toolbox out from under a different medical slab. Tools whizzed by his gaze, his processor logging each one, until he found what he was looking for.

Breakdown pushed past Arcee, who he was ignoring, and stopped at Ratchet's frame. The medic was still leaking energon from his wound, and his every vent wheezed and rasped painfully. Breakdown scanned over Ratchet's wound, finding the area most damaged.

But before Breakdown could begin helping Ratchet, he felt a light brush of a servo halting his actions. Angrily Breakdown turned his glare onto Arcee's narrow blue gaze.

"What are you doing?" Arcee asked, her gaze switching to the sharp, diamond bladed tool Breakdown was holding.

"I'm going to save Ratchet's life you idiot," Breakdown snarled, ripping away from Arcee's grasp.

"Uh-" Arcee's words faded as Breakdown set to work helping Ratchet. Breakdown had dealt with nastier wounds than Ratchet's on Vehicons during his time as Knock Out's assistant - both medical and fighting - so he knew exactly what was needed to save the medic.

Time flew like a missile and it was with great relief when Breakdown stepped away from Ratchet, satisfied that the medic was fully stabilized. He had flushed out what little remained of the Synth-en out of Ratchet's system, then had quickly done a suitable enough patch up on Ratchet's injury, so that Breakdown could set Ratchet up on an energon drip. Once he'd done that, then Breakdown had begun the tedious work of removing the most damaged metal and doing his best to repair what could be repaired. Filling and repairing the damaged metal had taken a lot of time but now nothing remained of Ratchet's wound - except for a small, nearly imperceptible scar on the very right edge of where his wound had been.

Now, with Ratchet still in forced recharge, Breakdown moved away. He'd done his job, that of saving Ratchet from certain, permanent offlining, and he was a bit worn out, to say the least. Breakdown walked past the Autobots, who had returned - minus Arcee, who had been tasked to watch him - from the Decepticon energon mine with cube after cube of energon.

It felt strange to not have the wary gazes of the Autobots trained on his every movement - as they were busy watching Ratchet - and Breakdown felt a lightness in his stride as he headed towards one of the connecting tunnels that lead to the Autobot's quarters. Prime had decided, after Breakdown had helped save Bulkhead, that Breakdown was to be given one of the unused rooms as his new quarters. It was a marked improvement from the medical bay for sure, even though it was small and somewhat discomforting at times. He reached the mouth of the tunnel when he heard a soft sigh come from Ratchet. Breakdown turned his optic back to where the medic lay, watching subtly as Ratchet attempted to sit up.

"Easy old friend," Prime said gently, pressing a servo against Ratchet's shoulder and stilling the medic's movements. "You lost a lot of energon. Good and bad."

"I… I didn't intend to hurt anyone… I just wanted so badly to-"

"Help us. We know," Prime interrupted, his gaze falling momentarily from Ratchet. "But you nearly caused the loss of something irreplaceable. Our medic, and a most trusted friend."

"You did lead us to a much needed energon supply," Prime said, turning and gesturing towards a large pile that Bulkhead was standing near. "And with that we should all be thankful."

Ratchet peered at the energon stack for a moment then sighed. "The Synthetic energon clearly needs refining before it can be tested again." Prime nodded with Ratchet's words, a small smile curving over his faceplate. "On machines, not Autobots."

"Let us take comfort in the fact that you were able to dispose of the quantity that remained." Optimus Prime wheeled his gaze up for a still moment, then shook his helm lightly, turning back to Ratchet. Ratchet lifted each arm slowly from where he lay, optics observing the movement of each. He turned to Prime and it was only because of Breakdown's general closeness to the pair that he heard the medic's next words.

"Optimus… None of the Autobots know a thing about medical practices, not even you, so how is it that my injury has been… fixed?"

Prime turned his gaze towards Breakdown briefly, who immediately began pretending like he hadn't heard a single word the two had said by looking away and fidgeting with his servos.

"It was Breakdown. He repaired you, Ratchet."

"Uh… Hmm. Interesting."

Not wanting to hear the rest of the conversation between Prime and Ratchet - others talking about him behind his back always made his anxiety hook into his spark without end -, Breakdown hurried down one of the base's hallways.


	10. Chapter 10

Dust whirled past Breakdown's mirrors, coating the glass with a thin film of grime. _Ha, I'm glad I'm not Knock Out or I'd be screaming back to base by now- Oh… Knock Out._

The familiar lurching ache of longing for his old friend clenched over Breakdown's spark like ice. No matter how long he stayed with the Autobots or thought about the scar he'd received from Knock Out, Breakdown could not shake thoughts of Knock Out from his mind. Breakdown had know Knock Out since nearly the beginning of the War for Cybertron, when the Decepticon medic had saved him from the clutches of death, and from that day on they'd battled, joked, and traveled alongside each other.

Bitterness washed over Breakdown. Bitterness to the Decepticon cause, those Pit-saken MECH humans, even Knock Out. _Because of them I'm here stuck with the Autobots listening to them ramble on foolishly about some slagging "prophecy". Ugh._

Breakdown mentally rolled his optic at the memory of Prime muttering on about some prophecy about 47 planets aligning BLAH BLAH BLAH. It was so BORING. Breakdown had been driven so crazy by the Autobots discussing this "prophecy" that he had bolted from the base, and was thus now all alone on the road.

It felt quite nice to be away from everything, with only wind, dust and the red rock of the desert to ground Breakdown to this world. Out here, on the empty road, there were no distrustful glares, sickeningly _boring_ lectures, obnoxious bratty humans, or the lurking monsters that lived in Breakdown's mind.

But peace never seemed to last long for Breakdown, for he had been pestered the whole time he had been away from the Autobot base by Ratchet, who asked him to come back, provide backup for Optimus, amongst other nonsensical, drivel requests. Breakdown had denied each, every time, for he was in no mood to be cooperative with the Autobots.

And so when his comms opened up with a harsh static cry, Breakdown only braced himself for another stupid request from Ratchet.

"Breakdown! Get back to base, immediately! Megatron has just confronted Optimus and the others and I need you back here in case anything happens."

"Are you sure that you don't just want me back to keep any eye on me? Make sure I don't betray those that have been _so_ generous to me?" Breakdown sniped, snorting with satisfaction at the enraged roar from Ratchet.

"No, you scrap-head, I need you back because you are one of us, and thus you have to take responsibility once in awhile and help out!"

"Fine, calm down," Breakdown muttered, grumbling all the way through the GroundBridge that Ratchet opened up for him until he reached the base. When the blue mech crossed over from the GroundBridge to the base, he looked up into the nervous optics of Ratchet.

"Uhm, Ratchet?" Breakdown backed away from the medic, warily tensing himself for anything. But Ratchet only shook his helm rapidly and moved back to his HUDs controls, immersing himself in the bright screen.

"Great, so you called me here for nothing? _Thanks_." Breakdown muttered to himself, glaring at Ratchet's back affronted. A small movement caught his optic, that of the young female human and the taller, dark-haired male. (Breakdown still hadn't memorized their names. Humans _sucked_ ).

Ratchet groaned openly, slapping a servo to his helm. " _Primus_ , _help me_. I asked you back because someone could get hurt and it would be nice to have help incase they are, as I already sent Bumblebee as back up for Optimus.

"Whatever," Breakdown snorted, rolling his optic skyward as he huffily moved away from the Autobot medic. Ratchet cast a long look at Breakdown but, with a disgusted shake of his helm, turned away.

"Ratchet! Bridge us back now!" Optimus Prime's voice ripped from the HUDs comm unit, turning both Ratchet and Breakdown's gazes to the HUDs. Breakdown moved up next to Ratchet, sharing a quick glance with the medic as static hissed over the comms.

"Must have an Autobot down," Ratchet sighed, wearily pulling the levers to the GroundBridge control. Ratchet shifted his chassis, and Breakdown followed the medic's gaze, to watch as the Bridge activated within its rings.

Only a few moments passed, in which a palpable tension filled the room of the base, until Arcee and Bumblebee walked through the Bridge. Bumblebee was staring intently at Arcee, who was carrying something in her arms.

 _Odd_.

"Raf!"

"No!" The distraught cries from the two humans made Breakdown look twice at what Arcee was carrying, a note of surprise rumbling from his engine when he realized that she was holding the brown-haired human.

Ratchet startled back, rushing up to Arcee, worry blazing off his chassis. "What happened?"

Megatron," Arcee snarled, glancing up from the young human in her arms to Ratchet, optics ablaze.

"Quickly, into my laboratory," Ratchet ordered, turning his back on Arcee without waiting for her response. Arcee quickened after the large medic with the human cradled in her arms gently. Bumblebee didn't follow after the two mechs, though he did pace restlessly in front of Breakdown.

 _But where are Prime and Bulkhead_? Breakdown wondered, tilting his helm curiously to the now deactivated GroundBridge. _Did Megatron do something to them… Or did they stay behind?_

Breakdown turned away from the Bridge, and his thoughts, walking up to the still pacing Bumblebee. The yellow scout did not give notice to Breakdown, continuously tracing a track into the metal flooring of the base.

Breakdown was surprised when he realized that he felt _sorry_ for Bumblebee, a distant memory of a Vehicon who had acted as Bumblebee was now giving action to Breakdown. The blue ex-Decepticon approached Bumblebee, halting the worried scout with a steady placement of his servo on Bumblebee's shoulderplates. Bumblebee helm shot up, surprise lighting in his wide optics as Breakdown looked down at him.

"He's going to be okay, Bumblebee," Breakdown said, indicating where Ratchet was quickly hooking up the young human to a varied amount of tubes and devices. Both of the humans were beside their unconscious friend, hovering over the metal bars of the stretcher the injured kid was laid out on. "You should be with your friend."

Bumblebee stayed for a moment, then nodded, wisking over to the head of the stretcher, gaze flashing up to Ratchet as the medic let out a frustrated groan.

" _Uf_ , Rafael isn't responding! We must run diagnosis of his assemblage, _ack_ , vital statistics- Uh! My tools are all wrong!" Ratchet snarled, throwing the two tools he had been holding across the base, turning back to - hmm, _Rafael's_ \- unconscious body to the crash of the tools.

Bumblebee's chassis shook momentarily, his optics shuttering and helm shaking defeatedly. Arcee stretched a servo to Bumblebee's shoulderplates as the male human began to move away from the unconscious human, pulling out a very small device and flipping it open.

"We need to call my mom," he urged, beginning to tap something into the small device.

"Your mother may be a nurse but does she know anything about the effects of energon on the human body?" Ratchet asked the dark-haired human, servos rising in protest to the human's words.

"Do _you_ know anything about the human body?" The ferocity in the human's voice surprised Ratchet, his optics switching to the left without protest. Breakdown watched the human as he raised the device to the side of his helm.

"Mom, it's urgent," the human bit each one of his words, and Breakdown turned back in time to see Ratchet's arms fall to his side, defeat turning his optics dull. Slowly, the orange medic turned his gaze back to where Rafael lay.

"The weak will perish. Be strong Rafael."

* * *

The flooding green light of the GroundBridge fading away turned Breakdown's gaze to the de-activated portal, watching as a small white car drove into the base, braking almost immediately as the dark-haired human ran up to its side.

"Mom…"

"Grab my bag," said the older female human that came from the white car, running past Breakdown to where Ratchet and the others were still hovering over Rafael's body. Ratchet was just finishing scanning the human's body, straightening his chassis as the scan finished and the older human ran up beside Rafael.

"Measuring the extent of the absorption should determine the proper course of treatment," Ratchet explained weakly, his optics oddly distant as the female wrapped her digits over Rafael's arm and body.

"If I don't get this boy stabilized NOW, he will not leave this table alive. Do you understand me?"

"Uh," Ratchet stepped away from the fierce human, shame shuttering his optics and lowering his helm without another word.

The dark-haired male gently placed a large black bag - _her medical kit_ \- on Rafael's stretcher, and as it fell Bumblebee suddenly reacted. His chassis shuddered noticeably as he let out an enraged trill, smashing his servo into the side of the wall behind him, making a large dent in the concrete wall.

Arcee leapt towards Bumblebee, pressing him against the wall. "Listen, you don't think I know what it feels like to watch a partner… harmed? Revenge won't help Raf right now, you need to keep your emotions in check." Bumblebee's optics adjusted, and he turned his gaze back to Rafael's unconscious body, placing a servo against his helm with a shuddering whine from his engine.

* * *

Breakdown had moved next to Ratchet, so it was only because of that that he was able to hear Prime's voice come through Ratchet's comms.

"Ratchet, how is Rafeal?"

Ratchet turned away from Rafael, though his optics still stayed locked in the direction of the unconscious human. "It is too soon to know."

"He is in good hands," Prime said softly, almost comforting, though Ratchet did not show anything but sadness still in his optics.

"Not in mine, Optimus. Curse my Cybertronian pride. We've accepted these humans into our lives, yet I bother to learn so little of their science or medicine." Ratchet's voice fell away, misery hanging heavily over his chassis. Breakdown moved a little closer to Ratchet, slowly placing his servo on the medic's shoulderplates. Ratchet looked towards Breakdown wordlessly, but gave him a brief nod as Prime's voice cracked over the comms again.

"Pull yourself together old friend, Rafael needs you."

"And I have grown to need him," Ratchet admitted quietly.

"Lock onto my coordinates and activate the GroundBridge," Prime ordered. Ratchet looked to move towards the controls but Breakdown stopped him with a short shake of his helm. Ratchet hesitated, but relented to Breakdown. Breakdown rushed up to the controls, activating the Bridge with a pull of the levers.

As the base was lit again with the livid green of the Ground Bridge, Breakdown turned and waited for Bulkhead and Prime to return.

* * *

"Jack, help me get Raf to the car, he's going to the emergency room!" The older human ordered, though her gaze snapped away from Rafael's body at the sound of Ratchet's voice.

"Nurse Darby, your doctors won't be able to comprehend what's afflicting him, not without a decade of study."

"I don't have time to argue," she snapped back, moving to the head of Rafael's stretcher.

"The effects of an energon blast on an Autobot can be devastating enough, but this is a _human_ ," Ratchet said, digits flashing over the medical HUDs, which was displaying an image of Rafeal. "I'm not getting any readings… How could I have not seen this? Rafael's been infected with Dark Energon."

Every human and Autobot within the base, even Breakdown, glanced up at Ratchet, as if a singular thought had passed between all of them at the same time.

_Dark energon…_

* * *

"If Dark Energon is devouring Raf from the inside out we must expel it, and fast. The only possible way I know," Ratchet said, a haunting look flashing momentarily through his optics as Ratchet picked up an empty energon cannister. "I need energon!"

The older female looked up sharply, raising one servo in the air, "Wait. You said energon is devastating to humans."

"Under normal circumstances, quite, but I am relying on the dark matter currently invading Rafael's body to meet it head on." Ratchet turned to Bumblebee, walking right up to the yellow scout and pressing the canister into the unarmored section of Bumblebee's arm. Energon flowed into the cannister to the top, Ratchet pulling it away from Bumblebee and placing it into a metal device.

"I need him over here, NOW!" Ratchet indicated to the cleansing bay. Both dark-haired humans pushed Rafael's stretcher into the cleansing bay, as Ratchet hurriedly typed something into the cleansing bay's HUDs. Once both humans had put Rafeal in place, they bolted out of the cleansing bay, the door shutting close just as Ratchet pulled the lever.

Light slowly began to flood the base as the energon within the cannister flowed into the cleansing bay, illuminating the entire base a bright flash, blinding Breakdown and the others momentarily. The light faded, though Breakdown had to shake his helm a few times until the dark spots blurring his vision faded away.

Once his vision had cleared, Breakdown glanced back over to the cleansing bay, where everyone of the humans were gathered around Rafeal, along with Bumblebee. Breakdown turned to Ratchet, who cracked the smallest of smiles at the sight of Rafeal being hugged by the spunky female.

Ratchet, seeming to sense Breakdown watching him, turned to Breakdown and shot him a happy smile before his gaze turned distant.

"Optimus, we did it."

The joy and happiness flooding the Autobot's base did not stay long, for suddenly Arcee wheeled on Bulkhead, wing kibble flaring outwards.

"Where is Optimus, Bulkhead?" Arcee asked, causing Ratchet to whip his gaze away from the humans and to her. The medic's optics narrowed, and his smile turned into a dark frown.

Bulkhead flashed his gaze between Arcee and Ratchet, even briefly landing on Breakdown, which made Breakdown snort angrily towards Bulkhead. The green mech immediately moved his gaze away from Breakdown, locking it back onto Arcee.

"Uh, well… Optimus told me to come back alone because he wanted to face Megatron. He said that he was going to _destroy_ Megatron."

"WHAT?!" Breakdown, Arcee and Ratchet all roared at the same time. Arcee and Ratchet snapped their optics onto Breakdown for a second, causing him to back away from the nerve-spiking stares until both looked back at Bulkhead.

Breakdown kept his mouth shut, not wanting to incite the wrath of the Autobots by voicing his opinion that Prime would never be able to defeat Megatron, not yet, at least.

Ratchet suddenly gasped, optics flashing sideways feverishly, then bolted over to the main HUDs, flicking it on hurriedly.

Arcee slapped her servos onto her hip plates, wing kibble rigid.

"Bulkhead, you let Optimus face Megatron alone?"

"I didn't have a choice-"

"It could be a trap, we need to get a fix on his location!" Ratchet hissed, and began to set to work finding Prime's location.

Breakdown stepped back slowly, turning to watch every single being inside the base thoughtfully, aside from Ratchet, who was still typing furiously away at the HUDs monitor.

All four humans were gathered together, the oldest of them checking over Rafael cautiously. Bulkhead and Arcee were busy arguing with each other, both of their voices rising nastily. Bumblebee, meanwhile was hovering over the humans, watching over each of them protectively.

The moment Ratchet's chassis grew rigid for a moment, Breakdown knew he had found Prime's location.

_Hopefully Megatron left him in one piece…_

"Locked onto Optimus' signal- Wait… How is this possible?" Ratchet's voice stopped, causing Arcee and Bulkhead to both stop arguing and come closer to Ratchet, right next to Breakdown.

"What? What is it?" Arcee asked.

"We need to get Optimus out of there, NOW!"

* * *

Breakdown turned to the GroundBridge, watching as Bulkhead and Ratchet, who were both helping Optimus into the base. The Autobot leader's steps were slow and unsteady, and his finish was scratched thoroughly.

"Easy, Optimus, from the look of things you've been exposed to a massive amount of dark energon," Ratchet said, glancing up at Prime with deeply concerned optics. Prime glanced away from Ratchet forlornly, causing the medic to follow his leader's gaze. Both mechs locked their gazes on Rafeal and the older human. Prime slowly shook his helm, then let out a slow vent.

"I am not the only one."

Ratchet glanced towards Breakdown, signaling him over. Breakdown came over, replacing Ratchet by hitching Prime's arm over his shoulderplates. Ratchet checked Optimus Prime over once again then pointed out one of the operation tables for Prime. Together, Breakdown and Bulkhead helped Prime to the slab, lowering him to the slab slowly.

When Prime was securely seated, Breakdown shifted away from the Autobots far enough so that Ratchet could begin checking Prime over. Prime glanced over at Rafael and gave him a slight smile, to which the kid responded back with a smile of his own.

"Hey."

"He's lucky to be alive," the old female chided, causing the Autobot leader to look away from her burning gaze with a frown cutting down his faceplate.

The sound of feet hitting metal turned Breakdown's gaze to the raised platform behind him, where the two younger humans were tramping down the metal flight of stairs. The dark-haired one was a few steps ahead of his female companion as both came down the stairs.

"Megatron's found more of the dark stuff?"

"A volcano-full," Arcee quipped at nearly the same time as Bulkhead said, "The question is how?"

"No, the question is _what_ ," Ratchet said, "as in what in the world is the blood of Unicron doing here? On Earth?"

"The 'cons killed a unicorn?" The young girl asked, glancing towards Breakdown for a moment, then to the Autobots.

"What?" Breakdown asked, stunned. _What the frag is a unicorn?_ Breakdown glanced to the Autobots, relieved to see all of them looked as confused as he was feeling.

The girl groaned, "White horse with a horn on its head? Prances around, all sparkly."

"Uni _cron_ ," Ratchet emphasized, "an ancient evil whose fossilized blood comprises the matter with which we call dark energon. As, legend would have it…"

"So you're saying this… Unicron is some kind of boogeyman?" The older human asked, which almost caused Breakdown to laugh at the sheer weirdness of humans.

"Boogeyman?" Ratchet questioned, voicing the thoughts of every mech in the base. He turned his gaze back to the young female, who looked surprised that Ratchet didn't know what a "boogeyman" was.

"Make believe creepy guy who hides in your closet," she explained. Ratchet turned back towards the older human.

"No, Nurse Darby, Unicron is very real. _Was_ \- That is- While I do believe he once existed, I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which," Ratchet hesitated as his optics flashed back to the humans, "harmed Rafael."

"I've heard enough," Nurse Darby snapped, turning and latching her servos onto the bars of Rafael's stretcher. "Jack, please, help me get Raf to the car." Jack turned to Nurse Darby, but didn't follow her as she began to roll Rafael towards her car.

Bumblebee moved up, beeping in protest towards Nurse Darby but she ignored him and continued rolling the stretcher towards her car.

"Mom, I thought he was doing better," Jack pleaded, following behind the older human.

"Raf needs to be examined by _real_ doctors, and Raf's family needs to know what's happened. His _real_ family," Nurse Darby said harshly, pointedly looking towards Ratchet. Breakdown watched Ratchet's reaction to her words. The medic, who had been watching Nurse Darby closely, lowered his helm and stared fixedly at the ground, emotions unreadable.

"Mom, Raf's family can't protect him. Not like _they_ can," Jack said, indicating towards Prime, Bulkhead and Arcee.

Prime slowly lumbered to his pedes, servos pushing off from the slab he had been seating on. "June, it deeply grieves me that I have failed. But I will do anything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends… Or any human, ever again."

Nurse Darby stopped moving Rafael's stretcher, turning her helm to the side slightly. "Optimus, they're children. They do not belong in your world. They should be worrying about grades, prom dates, pimples, not their own survival."

Breakdown couldn't help but agree with Nurse Darby as, every since Breakdown had been captured by MECH, he'd grown to believe that no human should ever interact with any Cybertronian.

"Mom, energon is pouring out the earth, it doesn't do that. This could be about everyone's survival, not just ours," Jack urged, though his mother still did not relent.

"You're coming with me, all three of you, and they will not be coming back." Nurse Darby turned away from the Autobots, anger pouring from her small frame as she continued rolling Rafeal to her car. Breakdown moved forward, edging close enough to Prime to see the small human girl cross her arms over her chest.

"I understand," Prime acknowledged, his tone level.

But it seemed someone didn't understand for the young female whipped on Prime, optics blazing. "That's it? After all we've been through together? See ya?! What about our freedom to choose?"

Breakdown rolled his optic lightly, letting out a quiet, puffing snort from his vents at her words. Though he did not trust humans, Breakdown had slowly grow to enjoy this little human's crazy, spunky side. She even dared to go toe to toe with Optimus Prime - something Breakdown didn't fancy.

"That may fly on their planet but not here on Earth," Nurse Darby said as she helped Rafeal into the backseat of her car. She pointed to the inside of her car and looked towards the two remaining children. "Get in."

"Do you really expect me to ride in a non-transforming vehicle?" The girl slipped, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"Miko," _ahhh, so that's her name_ , "I'm serious."

"You're not my mother," Miko replied, her body posture reeking with sarcasm. Bulkhead approached Miko from behind, bending down slightly.

"Miko," he chided.

"Neither are you!" Miko snapped back, surprising Bulkhead. Breakdown looked away, hiding the wide grin curving over his faceplate with one servo.

"But I am yours. Let's go, Jack," Nurse Darby said, gesturing to Jack and then back to herself. But Jack did not go to his mother, hanging his helm without word. The sound of Arcee's pedes turned Jack's optics to her, who turned hers in turn to Nurse Darby.

"She is your mom," Arcee told Jack, who turned to his mom, then Arcee, then back to his mom, back and forth.

"I'm staying," he announced, "I'm sorry." He looked down, so missed the disbelief and anger that raged over his mother's face until she turned back to her car. As she walked to the car, Jack's back bent and he rubbed self-consciously at his arm.

Nurse Darby slammed shut her car's back door, loading into the front seat of her car as Optimus Prime turned to Ratchet

"Ratchet, activate the GroundBridge."

"No thank you," Nurse Darby snapped, reversing and driving her car out of the base. Bumblebee's chassis sagged as his human left, shuffling his pedes in the ground, leaving no one doubting how he felt about his human leaving.

"Prime!" A new voice came over the HUDs comms, snapping Breakdown's wary gaze to the bright green screens.

"I hear you, Agent Fowler," Prime said, moving up to the HUDs.

"Been watching the news? Mother Nature's got a twitch in her britches," the new human, Agent Fowler, barked.

_A twitch in her britches? What? … These Autobots sure have some very odd human pets..._

"We know of the volcano-"

"And the quakes? Seven major tremblers of the _exact_ same magnitude, at the same exact same time as the volcanic eruption. All over the globe, on different tectonic plates, in theory unrelated if they hadn't happened-"

"-At the exact same time," Ratchet interrupted.

"Check it out! More good news," Miko said, though it didn't sound like good news. She pointed to the small entertainment console, which was playing small, changing images on its screen. A deep voice came from the consul, which began to describe the images flashing over the screen.

" _Freak storms unlike any the region has seen. Tsunamis threaten the Canadian coast while lightning storms pummel the Gobi desert. Meanwhile, electro-magnetic anomalies plague urban power grids. These abnormal global phenomena are leaving most to wonder, why now? And what next?_ "

"Don't tell me your 'Cons built a weather-machine," Agent Fowler snapped.

"One that powerful? Highly unlikely," Ratchet responded.

"Megatron wouldn't waste his time with something as stupid as a weather machine, anyways," Breakdown muttered darkly, avoiding the odd looks from the Autobots.

"I do not believe the appearance of dark energon at this point in time to be coincidental," Optimus said darkly.

Arcee and Bulkhead turned to glance at each other, then both turned to Breakdown, who gave them a noncommittal shrug as they turned away again.

_Megatron's going to have a field day with this._

* * *

Every helm turned as the base was filled with the echoing thrum of Bumblebee's alt mode driving back into the Autobot base. Breakdown, who was hovering away from the main group of Autobots turned and watched as Bumblebee opened his door, letting Rafael and Jack's mother out, and then transformed out of his alt mode.

Jack moved over to his mother and began speaking to her quietly. Breakdown turned his gaze away from the two humans, when the voice from the consul came over the base.

" _World leaders are classifying these bizarre weather patterns as a global emergency._ _And some scientist believe the phenomena to be somehow related to the current planetary alignment._ "

Just as the voice finished on the consul, the doors of the elevator shaft opened up and in walked a dark-skinned human, who Breakdown figured must have been the Agent Fowler person.

"What have you learned Prime? You better not blow smoke up my-" Agent Fowler halted when his gaze caught on Jack, Miko and Nurse Darby. He laughed nervously for a moment - which Breakdown found eerily unnerving - then said, "Nurse Darby. What a nice surprise."

"Special Agent Fowler."

Breakdown rolled his optic at the two humans, turning back to observe what Ratchet was doing. The medic had been busily trying to figure out the reasoning behind all of the strange occurrences happening around the globe since Bumblebee had gone out to fetch Nurse Darby and Rafael.

"We have learned this; as with the so-called magma from the volcano, these earthquakes originate far below the earth's crust. From the very center of the earth's core, in fact," Ratchet informed, pointing out an image on screen that showed what he was describing.

"Quakes don't start there, do they?" Agent Fowler asked, glancing towards Nurse Darby beside him.

"Tiny tremors rising and falling in a consistent pattern, almost like…" Ratchet's voice trailed off, his optics unwavering from the strange patterns flowing on the screen of the HUDs. Tense moments passed with only the steady sound of beeping from the Huds when Ratchet suddenly tensed. "By the Allspark! If I convert these data points to _audio_ files-"

"What? What is it?" Agent Fowler asked, worry obvious in his body.

"Listen," was all Ratchet said, and with them everyone in the base quieted down. Breakdown waited, and listened as ever so slowly a steady _thumping_ noise began to fill the base. Arcee stepped forward, her steps masked slightly by the strange thumping coming from the HUDs. Ever more moments passed, and with each of them, the base began to crackle with tension just like the ever louder _thumping_ echoed through the base.

"A Cybertronian heart-beat?" Jack asked.

"And how is it possible?" Nurse Darby voiced right after, "A heart pumps blood, there's nothing inside the earth to pump except-"

"The blood of Unicron!" Rafael suddenly realized, cutting off Nurse Darby.

"Oh, you have got to be fragging kidding me," Breakdown muttered, which caused Bulkhead to shoot him a weird look. "What?" Bulkhead shook his helm in response, then turned his gaze back to the large HUDs.

"Hold on, you mean something's living down there? Inside our planet?" Miko asked, looking directly at Ratchet and Prime.

"I fear that the earth's core is not comprised of magma as your science has suggested, but of dark energon," Optimus Prime said, gazing at nothing, and everything at the same time.

"Then if we are hearing a spark, then Unicron is the rising darkness that the prophecy foretold," Ratchet finished.

"So," Agent Fowler began, turning Ratchet's gaze towards the human, "how do we stop this _thing_ from rising?"

"That, I am afraid, was not foretold," Prime explained with a shake of his helm.

Breakdown rolled his optic, placing a servo against his faceplate. "Oh look at that, a useless prophecy. Color me surprised," Breakdown snapped, though only loud enough that Bulkhead and Miko could overhear him. Bulkhead shushed Breakdown, glaring at him openly, though Miko positively smiled at Breakdown's words.

Breakdown turned away from the two, ignoring Bulkhead pointedly.

"How could something be in our earth's core? And be alive?" Nurse Darby asked, flicking one servo towards the HUDs.

"Such a thing is not unprecedented. Before the beginning, there was Primus and there was Unicron. One the incarnation of creation, the other of destruction. For eons, Primus and Unicron battled. The balance of power was shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating The 13, the original Primes, who preceded me, was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out.

"Primus became one with the core of our planet, creating life through the Well of the Allsparks, while Unicron was never to be heard from again. Until now."

"Maybe we can find the hole this uber-Con left when he dug himself all the way down there, and fill it full with explosives," Agent Fowler articulated, though he still seemed a tad flabbergasted at the idea of something living inside their planet.

 _Get used to it_ , Breakdown thought sarcastically, turning his helm towards Prime who began to speak again.

"Agent Fowler, I do not believe that Earth became Unicron's home but rather that, with time and gravitational force, depriss collected around the slumbering titan."

"Forming your Earth itself," Ratchet looked towards Fowler, his tone soft.

"And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull created by the planetary alignment," Arcee guessed.

"Ok, so what happens now when Unicron wakes up from his billion year nap?" Jack prompted, crossing his arms over his chest as he did.

"Yeah does he stretch and KA-POW! Earth poofs to dust?" Miko wondered, startling Bulkhead with her words. She looked towards Optimus but he did not answer, though the fear in his optics made it obvious what he had left unsaid was.

"You don't know? Do you?" Nurse Darby asked, making the Autobot leader avoid her gaze.

"My guess is that Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it. Nonetheless, we must find a way to insure that this force of nature never fully awakens. The fate of your planet depends upon it."

* * *

"Optimus! Have you uncovered any further sign of Unicron's emergence?" Ratchet asked over the comms.

But the voice that answered was not Prime's, but a deep, growling voice that boomed endlessly inside the base.

" _UNICRON IS POWER INCARNATE. AND YOU, THE LAST OF THE PRIMES, SHALL PERISH._ "

"I'd take that as a yes. We are on our way!" Ratchet wheeled about but before he, or anyone for that matter, could move another step Prime's voice boomed from the comms.

"Negative! Unicron can not be defeated by sheer force, he wants _me_ , Ratchet. This fight must be mine alone."

"But Optimus-" Ratchet began, halting when the connection between the base's comms and Prime's cut off into static.

Breakdown shrugged nonchalantly, turning a disinterested gaze on the Autobots. "Your leader is nuts, you know that right?" Arcee whirled her gaze onto Breakdown, her chassis tensing, as Bumblebee looked positively astounded at what Breakdown had said.

"Oh, like Megatron wasn't nuts!" Bulkhead snapped, advancing on Breakdown with a snarl of his engine.

Breakdown didn't say anything in response, the old - unwanted, frankly - loyalty for Megatron and the Decepticon cause forcing Breakdown to say nothing in response. But he did turn away from the Autobots, anger biting at his spark.

Bulkhead grumbled something, then moved away from Breakdown, stopping at Arcee and sharing a look between the two of them.

"Optimus?" Ratchet tried once more to contact Prime over the comms but was once again met with static. The medic shook his helm, then very quietly - enough that Breakdown could barely hear him though he was standing near Ratchet - whispered, "Optimus, please don't do this. We need you…"

Ratchet looked sullen for a moment or two longer, then suddenly turned on Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

"No matter what Optimus says, he needs our help. We are going to do that. Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee take Breakdown and help our leader."

"What?" Arcee and Bulkhead gasped, both turning their gaze on Breakdown, who stepped back from their intense stares nervously.

"Are you nuts?" Arcee yelled, "What if _he_ ," she pointed right at Breakdown when she said _he_ , "betrays us, or…"

"Arcee! Stop thinking so black and white for once. Breakdown has already helped us. He saved Bulkhead from Knock Out, and he repaired me." Ratchet turned his gaze to Breakdown, holding it for a moment then, with a small nod of his helm, turned back to Arcee. "I believe in him. He is one of us now, and its time we begin to act like it."

Arcee shut her mouth tight, though she still kept a frosty glance on Breakdown as she, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead moved to the GroundBridge. Breakdown followed suit, stopping beside Bumblebee as the GroundBridge became active.

Ratchet turned to the four of them, his expression grim.

"Bring him back, please."

* * *

Of all things to jump into battle against, Breakdown would never have guessed he would be fighting ginormous, earthen Unicrons, alongside the Autobots. It was odd.

The four mechs had come through the GroundBridge with guns blazing, the energy bolts sending pieces of stone Unicrons flying everywhere. As a unit the four of them had leapt down the cliff ledge the GroundBridge had placed them on, smashing apart the multiple Unicrons that had been holding Prime down.

Bumblebee dodged past Breakdown, avoiding a bright blast form one of the Unicrons which hit only micrometers from Breakdown. Breakdown snarled, activating his shoulder-cannon and firing it at the offending Unicron. The blasts hit the Unicron's chest area, blasting off one arm and leaving a gaping hole in the Unicron's chest. The Unicron wheeled on Breakdown, charging towards Breakdown with a roar of hatred. Breakdown leapt backward and fired one last time, watching as the red blast hit the Unicron square in the face. The Unicron had no time to react as its face exploded and body promptly crumbled to the ground.

Breakdown searched for another Unicron, spotting one that Arcee and Bumblebee were currently fighting until another dropped onto Arcee's back. Breakdown aimed his cannon at the Unicron but from nowhere came Prime, who crashed into the first Unicron Bumblebee and Arcee had been fighting, then flung that one against the one holding Arcee down. Both Unicrons went flying and Prime immediately turned a flaring gaze on Bumblebee and Arcee.

"Did Ratchet not rely my command? Return to base!"

"REINFORCEMENTS WILL NOT PREVENT YOUR DESTRUCTION, DISCIPLE OF PRIMUS."

"Optimus! You're Unicron's target, maybe _you_ should consider returning to base," Arcee urged, as more and more Unicrons appeared, pouring down the sides of the canyons, only to be met by the combined shots of Breakdown and all the Autobots.

"These manifestations of Unicron can locate me anywhere on Earth, even our bases shielding would only cloak my position for so long. I will not put others at risk," Prime told Arcee, all the while still blasting enemy Unicrons.

"Then fall back, and let us take the lead!" Bulkhead offered, "Just this once!" Bulkhead turned away from Optimus and continued firing at the waves of Unicrons poring over the canyon walls.

"Concentrate on attacking, not talking," Breakdown snarled, dodging another Unicron energy blast as he wheeled to the left at shot at another Unicron advancing quickly on their position. That Unicron fell to dust, only to be replaced by another Unicron.

" _Please, listen to reason! If you don't survive Optimus, I fear neither will this planet!"_ Ratchet's plea echoed over Breakdown's comms, and he figured every ones. Breakdown glanced over at Prime, waiting to see what he would do.

Thankfully, Prime didn't wait long. "Very well." Silently, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee formed in front of Prime, Breakdown falling in behind Bumblebee.

"Let's move!" Arcee urged and charged away. The femme leapt up onto a huge rock overhang, shooting a Unicron that was pacing towards her as she kept going. Another Unicron landed in front of Breakdown and the other three Autobots, but Bumblebee shot it before it could do anything. With their pathway cleared, Bumblebee charged on, followed closely by Prime and Bulkhead, and lastly Breakdown.

Chaos reigned as the five mechs ran for their lives, stone Unicron after stone Unicron following them, then replenishing after one was shot too dust. They leapt over gorges, scrambled up rocky cliffs, all in an endless cycle of running, shooting and being chased. A large gorge came up and each of the five leapt over it, landing on the opposite side of the gorge and then transforming into their alt modes without respite.

Dust and stone slashed across Breakdown's frame, but he did not stop. The endless stream of Unicrons suddenly ended, and with it, open space. Breakdown pushed his engine to the max, passing Bulkhead. Thunder echoed behind him. Unicron after Unicron, trapped, trapped, _trapped_.

But then the ground shook with a furious rumble and each before the five of them, rose another Unicron. But this one was bigger, much, much bigger. It seemed to tower all the way to the clouds, an endless being of hate and destruction.

Before him, Arcee, Bumblebee and Prime all braked and transformed out of their alt modes, and so Breakdown, along with Bulkhead, followed suit.

Breakdown moved up until he was right behind Bumblebee, fear shuddering through his chassis at the towering figure. Bumblebee trilled nervously, optics snapping over to Prime.

"No, though not Unicron himself but another one of his manifestations."

"If we can't beat Unicron, and we can't outrun him, what exactly are we supposed to do?" Bulkhead asked, making Breakdown glance over at him nervously. Bulkhead caught Breakdown's optic and together they shared the same worried expression.

"All we can do. Neutralize his vessels as they appear, until we find a way to destroy him. Without destroying the very earth upon which we walk," Prime said as he walked forward and transformed his servos into their gun mode. The Unicron did not stop moving and, as Prime charged forward, Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead and Breakdown charged after the Autobot leader.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead transformed back into their alt modes, racing under the huge Unicron's feet as Prime, Arcee and Breakdown began shooting at his front. The Unicron paid no attention to Breakdown and the other two, turning its huge, earthen helm, as Bumblebee and Bulkhead switched back into their normal modes and began shooting at stone Unicron's back.

Breakdown fired one of his missiles into the Unicron's leg, though it did nothing to the Unicron and it still ignored him. The Unicron swung a servo towards Bulkhead and Bumblebee, driving the huge jagged bits of stone that formed the servo into the ground. Both tried to escape the swift-moving servo but neither were fast enough to avoid getting hit by the huge servo; flinging both away.

Breakdown snarled angrily as he continued firing energy blasts at Unicron, right alongside Prime. Arcee raced around the Unicron, her guns firing non-stop, which drew the Unicron's attention to her. Breakdown leapt backwards as the Unicron suddenly swung its other servo, this one a huge, hooked blade, flinging away Arcee.

Breakdown looked at Prime for a moment, then began to back away, transforming into his alt mode and swinging around Prime. With Knock Out, Breakdown would have run away by now, but something kept Breakdown going straight towards his target. The Unicron's leg.

Breakdown's engine roared a challenge to the great, hulking being. Breakdown activated his brakes, skidding sideways in an attempt to broadside the Unicron's leg but the Unicron lifted its foot, smashing it down onto Breakdown entirely.

Pain hit Breakdown in an instant, his metal chassis shrieking as it began to bend under the weight of Unicron's foot. Breakdown revved his engine in reverse, hoping he could escape the crushing pain but his chassis was beginning to crack under the immense weight and then there was no more.

Steam hissed from Breakdown's vent as the weight vanished, his chassis groaning as he switched out of his alt mode. Breakdown steadied his shaking chassis by placing both servos into the ground but blackness was still tearing into his vision.

He could faintly hear shots firing near him and then a thud of pedes skidded to a stop next to him. Rapid beeping told him it was Bumblebee beside him, so Breakdown turned his helm to the Autobot scout. The scout had bent down beside him, offering out his servo to Breakdown. This time, Breakdown did not hesitate, reaching and grabbing onto Bumblebee's servo. Bumblebee helped Breakdown to his pedes with a groan of pistons and, when Breakdown was to his pedes he stumbled back slightly, servo clutching onto his helm as waves of pain rolled over his helm.

Bumblebee steadied Breakdown, trilling something he did not understand, though Breakdown could understand the worry in the notes.

"I'm okay," Breakdown said, "Go help your friends." Bumblebee hesitated for a moment, then bolted off, guns blasting at the Unicron.

"I AM THIS WORLD'S PAST AND ITS FUTURE, AND AS OF THIS MOMENT-" Unicron's voice boomed, snapping Breakdown's attention back to the huge stone being. Its foot was falling onto a pile of rocks-

"NO!" Arcee shrieked, servo raised helplessly.

"-ALL PRIMES ARE SIMPLY PAST."

 _Primes? Wait- He's going to crush Optimus!_ Breakdown realized. He lunged, but the foot kept falling-

The sharp staccato of a bursting gun suddenly ripped through the sky, just as blasts of purple energy ripped through the head of the huge Unicron.

The Unicron began to fall backwards, _towards Breakdown_. Breakdown snapped into his alt mode, racing away from the falling Unicron. He skidded to a halt beside Arcee and watched as the huge Unicron crashed to the ground, sending a gust of dust flying into the air. Arcee glanced at Breakdown, bewilderment glowing in her blue optics. Breakdown only could shrug.

Soon, the dust cleared and, with it gone, Arcee and Breakdown walked up beside Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Bumblebee glanced towards Bulkhead, then trilled something to them.

"Wasn't me," Arcee said.

"Me neither," Bulkhead added.

 _Then who?_ Breakdown wondered, until flashes of memory hit him. _Purple blasts… There is only one mech I know who uses purple energon, and that's-_

"Ratchet?" Arcee's voice cut off Breakdown's train of thought, making him whip his gaze back to her.

" _What is it? What happened?_ "

" _I_ happened-"

"And that's Megatron," Breakdown muttered, fear latching all the way to the bottom of his spark as his gaze traveled to the pile of Unicron rocks, where his former leader, _Megatron_ , showed himself.

Megatron leapt from the pile of rocks he was standing on, landing near Breakdown and the others. Breakdown began to back away, angling behind Bulkhead, hoping Megatron would not realize he was with the Autobots.

"Megatron?" Bulkhead asked, he and Bumblebee both tensing each other for an expected battle.

" _King 'Con is there too?"_ Miko...

" _He has aligned himself with Unicron_ ," Ratchet snarled over the comms.

"Don't be so sure," Arcee said, "Megatron just saved Optimus' tailpipe."

No reply came from Ratchet over the comms, though his gasp was loud enough to be heard faintly on the comms.

Breakdown kept his optic on Megatron, though his attention was turned away when the smaller pile of rocks that Prime had been buried under began to move. Soon Prime pushed himself free of the rocks, though he fell to his servos. Megatron stepped up to where Optimus was, angling his energy cannon right at Prime's helm, with the sharp whir of Megatron's gun shocking the Autobots, and Breakdown.

 _Is Megatron really going to kill Optimus Prime? Even after he just saved his_ life _?_

Breakdown stepped backwards, watching as Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee all activated their energy guns, pointing them right at Megatron. But then Megatron's arm moved and he offered out his clawed servo to Prime.

Optimus hesitated for a second then clasped onto Megatron's servo. Megatron gently pulled Optimus to his pedes, the two mechs looking into each other's optics without looking away. Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee slowly lowered their guns, all sharing a glance between each other.

"It is rather ironic, considering our last encounter. If memory serves, you were desperately attempting to extinguish my spark," Megatron quipped.

Optimus moved up closer to Megatron, "That option remains very much in play."

Megatron leaned forward until he was face to face with Optimus. "I would expect nothing less. However, I have a proposal. Join me in defeating our shared enemy, Unicron the Chaos Bringer."

Shock hit Breakdown, and he moved back ever faster, optic snapping between the four Autobots and Megatron nervously. _I don't like this, I_ don't _like this…_

" _Ha! Absurd! Unicron is evil incarnate, if Megatron was to take any side, why would it be_ ours _?"_ Ratchet snapped over the comms.

"Because Megatron's pride would never allow anyone other than himself to rule this planet," Prime explained, again advancing closer to Megatron.

Megatron laughed languidly, then gave a crooked smile. "You know me all too well, Optimus."

"You lead an army of 'Cons, why come to us?" Bulkhead asked, servo pointing towards Bumblebee and Arcee. Megatron began to move up to the Autobots, which only made Breakdown shrink away further and further. _Please don't see me, please…_

"Because this particular endeavour something beyond the realm of my command. The power of a Prime," Megatron gestured to Optimus, who kept his faceplate emotionless.

"Ha, then I guess we don't need you," Bulkhead said, a little too hopefully in Breakdown's opinion.

"On the contrary, Optimus may be the only one who can defeat Unicron but I remain the only one who can _guide_ you to him. Unicron's lifeblood runs through me, only I can hear his thoughts, anticipate his movements. Optimus, our past alliances, Autobot, Decepticon, no longer matter, not while Unicron lives."

" _The past ALWAYS matters!"_ Ratchet's enraged voice surprised Breakdown, making the nervous mech shy backwards ever more.

"A truce between Autobot and Decepticon, how long do you think that will last?" Optimus asked, his tone icy.

"Only as long as is mutually beneficial," Megatron said, clicking his clawed digits together. His optics suddenly snapped onto Breakdown, who stopped moving as a deep growl rumbled from his engine. "Anyways, you seem to have already been working on that truce of yours, eh Breakdown?"

Every gaze snapped to Breakdown, almost as if they had forgotten he was there with them until Megatron mentioned him. Arcee's optics were once again guarded, as if she worried Breakdown might stab them in the back now that Megatron was there. Bumblebee thrilled at Breakdown softly, his optics filled with worry for… _me? Bumblebee is worried for_ me _?_

Bulkhead winced and turned away from Breakdown, while Optimus shifted his chassis in front of Megatron, who had begun to walk in Breakdown's direction.

"Breakdown is one of us now, Megatron. Leave him alone," Optimus said warningly.

Megatron ticked a brow ridge up, mouth turning in disgust, but the Decepticon nodded to Optimus tightly.

"Fine, Optimus. You can have the traitor, I really don't mind." Megatron wheeled his gaze back to Breakdown, his freaky, purple optics blazing with unbidden fury. Breakdown could read the hidden message within Megatron's optics and for that he only feel that old, terrifying feeling of being trapped hook onto his spark.

Megatron turned back to Optimus and tilted his helm sideways, "Now about my proposal?"

"I won't to know one thing. What will you do when our _proposed_ shared mission is complete, Megatron?"

"I will conquer this earth, my way."

Arcee lowered one shoulder, turning her helm to the left with a snort. "Brutal honesty, from a Decepticon?"

" _Aligning with a lesser of two evils is still siding with evil,"_ Ratchet hissed over the comms.

"Do you think you've witnessed the full power of Unicron? Those foot soldiers were nothing more than a taste. Unicron has yet to fully awaken. With each passing moment, the Bringer of Chaos evolves, mutating Earth from the inside out. What we have witnessed until now is but a prelude to the utter devastation his rising will wreak upon your world."

"Like your quest for power destroyed Cybertron?" Arcee snapped, which made Breakdown wince. _I was part of Cybertron's destruction too…_

"Make no mistake, this time there will be a planet left for me to rule," Megatron growled, his optics narrowing on Arcee.

"Even if we agree, Unicron's all the way down at the center of the Earth. How are supposed to get there? Drive?" Bulkhead asked sarcastically.

"There is only one way," Optimus said.

" _Absolutely NOT! GroundBridging into space, or onto a moving train is difficult enough, but plotting a blind jump_ inside _of a sentient being? Besides, direct exposure to that much dark energon will diplitate you. You haven't built up an immunity like Megatron has,"_ Ratchet barked tensely.

"Yet another strong argument for soliciting my guidance," Megatron drawled.

"You can provide Unicron's exact coordinates?"

"If you transport us to this planet's core, I can lead you directly to Unicron's spark. The very heart of his darkness."

"Optimus, even if we survive the jump, how are we supposed to stop Unicron?" Arcee asked.

Optimus turned his gaze to Megatron, who said nothing, but titled his brow ridges up slightly. Optimus turned his helm to the side, towards Arcee and said, "With the Matrix of Leadership."

"It was the combined power of the Primes that defeated Unicron so long ago, the very reason he now seeks to destroy you," Megatron said.

"It would follow that unleashing the power of the Matrix directly into Unicron's spark would return him to stasis." Optimus mulled over his words for a moment, which gave a few moments for Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead to share worried glances with each other.

Breakdown's gaze turned down, in time for him to notice the rocks that had made up the huge earthen Unicron begin to move, rolling past the feet of the three Autobots, which made all three stop and look down. Breakdown, and their gazes, followed the rocks to the huge pile of Unicron rocks which were beginning to move.

"We've got another one!" Bulkhead stated, backing up next to Breakdown.

As the huge Unicron began to form again, Optimus' voice broke over the comms. "Ratchet, send a GroundBridge."

Wind and dust tore at Breakdown and the Autobots, the force of it pulling at everyone of their chassis, until a GroundBridge opened right behind Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Breakdown.

Arcee wheeled around suddenly, "Wait. We're opening up a direct path to our base with _Megatron_ standing right there?"

"And seriously, he's going to risk his own spark to save us?" Bulkhead snapped.

Megatron only began to laugh, his chassis shaking wildly. "Hardly my nature." Megatron turned his gaze to the now reformed Unicron. "Consider my offer, I shall keep it busy." With those words, Megatron transformed into his alt mode, engines blasting, and raced towards the stone Unicron.

Bumblebee did not wait any longer as he turned and charged through the GroundBridge, with Arcee and Bulkhead following right behind him. Breakdown hesitated momentarily, gaze watching as Megatron zipped around the Unicron, guns blasting at the stone being.

One last time, Breakdown glanced towards Optimus, then plunged through the GroundBridge with Optimus right behind him.

* * *

"I know that desperate times call for desperate measures, but bringing Megatron here?"

"How can you even think about letting that monster near these children after what he did to Raf?" Nurse Darby snapped, agreeing with Ratchet who had just spoken.

"I'm not a fan of the idea either," Breakdown muttered, again finding himself agreeing with the female human - which he found endlessly irritating. No one heard Breakdown though, much room his relief.

"He will be closely monitored and only allowed to linger long enough to send us on our journey, not one moment more," Optimus' optics narrowed with his words.

"What's going to stop the 'Con from calling in an airstrike if he knows where you live?" Fowler pointed out sharply.

"By GroundBridging Megatron here, he will be unable to get a fix on our coordinates."

"Optimus… What's going to happen to you when all your Matrix energy is released?" Jack asked, arms tight around his chest.

"The power within the Matrix has not been previously utilized in this particular manner."

"But, you have an idea don't you?" Jack inquired.

Optimus did not respond for a few moments, his back turned from the Autobots, humans and Breakdown.

"Autobots, if humankind is to be saved, I have no choice but to proceed. But you do."

 _Why is it_ always _humankind with Optimus? Do Cybertronians not matter to him anymore, now that he's found such a fascination with the fleshlings._

"Well, uh… I don't know about humankind but I'm willing to do it, for Miko," Bulkhead said, turning to look at his human.

"For Jack," Arcee added, followed by Bumblebee's short trill. Every gaze turned to the three young humans, and stayed there.

Seeing his opportunity to get away, Breakdown began to back away from the group but stopped when Optimus suddenly put the full force of his gaze on Breakdown.

"And you, Breakdown? What do you have to say?"

Every optic fell on Breakdown, which only caused his chassis to prickle. His optic snapped between each Autobot and human, and his steps began to falter, finally stopping with a heavy vent.

"I will never fight for humans, but I will fight for what really matters. Reviving our _true_ home. I will do it for Cybertron."

* * *

Heavy footfalls echoed louder and louder through the base, and with each one of them, Breakdown only grew more wary. Thankfully though, none of the other Autobots seemed any less wary than Breakdown, as Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee all had their guns pointed at the entrance of the GroundBridge.

Tension roiled through the air like lightning as Megatron, Breakdown's former leader, the Autobot's enemy, stepped into their base. Uncertainty, fear and distrust warred in Breakdown's spark as Megatron's gaze traveled around the base then plunged, straight down onto Breakdown.

"Hello again, Breakdown."


	11. Chapter 11

"Hello again, Breakdown," Megatron's voice was oddly humorous, though every other part of the mighty Decepticon's frame showed the exact opposite of humor. His purple optics were narrowed to furious slits, and his mouth creased downwards into a hard frown.

"Megatron," Breakdown replied icily. Megatron began to laugh at Breakdown's tone then, with a deep growl from his engine, began to advance towards Breakdown.

"So it's just _Megatron_ now, Breakdown? What happened to Lord, or _Master_?" Megatron asked, his tone no longer humorous, "Have you forgotten your manners living with the Autobots?"

Breakdown tensed, optic snapping to the Autobots - who were all silently watching Megatron and Breakdown - then back to Megatron. The Decepticon was still approaching him, which only made Breakdown's anxiety heighten more and more.

"You're not my leader anymore, Megatron, so don't expect me to greet you as such. Anyways, you did pretty much declare me as your enemy, if you so forgot."

Megatron perked a brow ridge, mock confusion whisking over his faceplate. "What could you _ever_ mean?"

"You know full well Megatron," Breakdown snapped, anxiety washing away to hate as he glared into Megatron's optics. Megatron snorted, one of his clawed digits tapping away at his chin with exaggerated confusion.

"Oh? I _do_? I can't imagine doing something so dastardly," Megatron simpered, before he suddenly leaned his entire chassis towards Breakdown, who stumbled backwards and hit the wall behind him as Megatron placed his servo on Breakdown's shoulder plate. The Decepticon leader's optics flared and, as he dug his servo into Breakdown's shoulder, began to whisper quietly, menacingly, to Breakdown.

"Those glitched failures of machines - your beloved Vehicons - and Starscream may have failed to terminate you, but you won't be so lucky with me. I _will_ terminate you, as I have terminated all traitors before. Luckily for you, Breakdown, at least for a time, I actually need the Autobots help and I'm guessing offlining you won't get them to help me. But once Unicron is defeated I will not hold back."

Megatron released Breakdown from his grasp - who stumbled backwards, vents heaving - and turned away from the blue mech, steps fading from Breakdown's audio sensors as the Decepticon leader came aside the Autobots. Breakdown lowered his gaze, not paying attention to the Autobots or Megatron, as he attempted to steady his shaking chassis.

Breakdown knew, with a depressive fatalism, that Megatron would not go back on his threat to Breakdown. _I'm more of a threat to Megatron than the Autobots because of what I know. I never thought about it, but me being with the Autobots I could tell them_ anything _about the Decepticons. Anything. What I know could change everything… No wonder Megatron wants to kill me._

_Yea…_

The sound of pitched voices shook Breakdown from his thoughts and drug his gaze back to the Autobots, Megatron and the humans, all of whom had bolted from where Ratchet had hid them before Megatron had walked into the Autobot base.

"You," Rafael said, rushing up to the Autobots, just as Jack caught him.

Megatron made a sarcastic note of exclamation at the sight of the humans, turning to the humans just as Arcee charged in front of him, blasters aimed at his chest. "Ah, you're looking much better than the last time we met, little one. Humans. Resilient."

"Come on Raf, he isn't worth it," Jack urged, pulling Raf away from the Autobots and towards his mother. Once Nurse Darby had taken raf away from him, Jack wheeled his gaze to Megatron, turning away without a word.

"And you, I never forget a face even that of a human," Megatron said coldly, which only made Jack turn his helm for a moment then continued past Miko.

Miko herself had been glaring at Megatron the whole time and Breakdown wasn't surprised when she lunged towards Megatron and yelled, "You double-cross anyone, mine is the face you will never forget. NEVER!" Agent Fowler snatched up Miko, which she protested to with grunts and swinging of her arms but eventually gave in.

Megatron said nothing, though he did tilt his helm up slightly.

"Ratchet, obtain the destination coordinates from our _guest_ ," Optimus ordered, pointing his servo towards Megatron. Megatron moved past Prime, glancing back once to the Autobot leader, and stopped at the GroundBridge control. Ratchet followed after Megatron, along with Breakdown and the Autobots, and began receiving the coordinates from Megatron.

It took only a few moments for the GroundBridge to open, which Megatron was standing near.

"Locked and ready," Ratchet informed. The Autobots moved forwards, with Arcee halting in front of Megatron.

"You first," she snapped, indicating to Megatron.

"As you wish," he replied, bowing mockingly to her, then turning and striding through the GroundBridge. Arcee turned her gaze away from Megatron, staring for a few moments at the humans then headed through the GroundBridge.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee followed her and, with a shrug of his shoulderplates, Breakdown followed after them.

The GroundBridge opened up to a cold, eerie place laced over with huge purple walkways. The immensity of the place made Breakdown nervous and, without really thinking about his actions, he pressed closer to Bulkhead, who gave him a bewildered glance. Distantly Breakdown could hear the steady thumping that Ratchet had picked up on the base's HUDs.

_Freaky._

"So," Arcee asked, moving up closer to Megatron and Optimus, "how long before Unicron knows we're here?"

Megatron turned his helm in her direction and when he spoke his voice was dark. "Make no mistake, he already does."

Megatron began to move, Optimus following just after him. Arcee began to move but Breakdown, Bulkhead and Bumblebee all glanced at each other nervously. Together the three of them began to follow Megatron along the walkway.

* * *

Breakdown _hated_ this. They had been walking for what felt like forever inside Unicron, passing over long walkways and now inside a very dark, pulsating tunnel. And he could swear he had hear some distant scrabbing along metal, as if some kind of creature was following them.

_Just what we need._

Briefly, Breakdown heard a high-pitched whistling noise then, just as Breakdown heard it, Megatron let out a gasp of pain, servo clutching his helm as he fell to one knee.

"Megatron?" Breakdown stepped towards Megatron, but Arcee stopped him with a furious glare. Breakdown backed away from her, quenching the concern that had shot through his spark at the sight of his former leader nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Unicron grows ever stronger," Megatron hissed, lowering the servo from his helm as he rose up to his pedes, turning towards Optimus. He kept his optics on Prime for a few moments then moved on, walking past Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Breakdown without even a glance.

"How do we know Unicron isn't using Megatron to lead us all into a trap?" Arcee asked, which Breakdown thought was a fair point. But he knew Megatron better than anyone else in the group - well, besides Optimus - and he knew that Megatron was not one to allow himself to be controlled by anyone, or anything.

_Megatron would do anything to get rid of Unicron, and I don't think he's doing his actions because of any influence from Unicron. Not yet, at least._

"We do not," Prime answered Arcee, moving past her after Megatron. Arcee said nothing, but she did transform one of her servos into its blaster mode. She glanced once more at Breakdown suspiciously, then began to follow her leader. Breakdown moved after her in line, the sound of pedes behind him telling him that Bumblebee and Bulkhead were right behind him.

Breakdown slowed his steps, coming beside Bulkhead, who could not hide the surprise in his optics.

Breakdown opened his mouth to say something, but Bulkhead interrupted him.

"What do you want, Breakdown?" Bulkhead asked hostility, his voice nearly at a whisper.

Breakdown snapped his mouth shut and sped up, anger blazing through his spark. _Everything I do, I piss somebody off. I don't want anything except to talk, but then again why would a_ Decepticon _ever say something friendly to an Autobot?_

Breakdown quelled his thoughts, though he couldn't shake the sadness that choked at him. He could vividly remember when he wasn't followed by a cloud of distrust or hatred back on the _Nemesis_ -

"Breakdown, hey… I- I'm sorry," Bulkhead's apology halted Breakdown in his tracks, and whisked his thoughts away at the same time. He turned his gaze to Bulkhead, who had run up beside him, and watched the green mech silently.

Bulkhead shook his helm for a moment, looked like he wanted to say something, shut his mouth then shook his helm once again. Breakdown tolled his optic again and began moving again, which made Bulkhead follow suit.

"Sorry about, uh, _that_. I'm still not used to the fact that you aren't my enemy anymore… And, to be frank, this _place_ is giving me the creeps," Bulkhead explained, his optics glancing furtively away from Breakdown.

"Whatever." Breakdown's icy tone made Bulkhead frown, the former Wrecker raising his servos wordlessly in complaint. Breakdown ignored him and kept following Arcee, who was switching small glances between Breakdown and Megatron.

Breakdown let a low growl escape from his engine, which made Arcee glare at him once more than turn her full attention back to Megatron and Optimus. Bulkhead was still walking beside Breakdown, though the green mech was not bothering Breakdown anymore, instead he was glancing around the dark tunnel with unhidden worry.

Bumblebee let out a long string of whirs and beeps from behind the two large mechs, which made Bulkhead fall back next to the scout.

"Hey, it's going to be okay Bumblebee. I'm just as nervous as you are." Breakdown overheard Bulkhead whisper, which made him to his helm slightly to watch Bumblebee and Bulkhead.

Bumblebee let out another string of beeps to Bulkhead, who glanced towards Breakdown ever so slightly.

"I don't know 'Bee, I just don't know."

* * *

"Unicron's spark is near," Megatron hissed, optics traveling around the wide space in front of them. The group had reached the end of the tunnel finally, but Unicron himself did not end. Walkways were still visible in front of them, including the one that connected the tunnel they were in, to a strange, sealed door.

Arcee stepped onto the walkway, then turned towards Megatron. "You first."

Breakdown glanced towards Megatron, who quirked his brows at her for a moment, then marched on. As a whole the group moved after the Decepticon leader, though Breakdown couldn't stop the rush of nerves snapping at his spark. It had been far too quiet - well, minus the steady thumping still echoing throughout Unicron - while they had been inside the Chaos Bringer, and Breakdown couldn't help but feel that all of this way way too easy.

"Uhhh," Bulkhead's groan moved Breakdown's gaze to his old rival, and drew a few chirps from Bumblebee. "I'm fine 'Bee. Just woozy."

"The Dark Energon, it's starting to affect him," Arcee realized, servos latching onto Bulkhead. "Steady as you go Bulk." Together Arcee and Bumblebee helped Bulkhead along and, with a roll of his optic, Breakdown turned his attention back to Optimus and Megatron in time to see Megatron halt suddenly. Breakdown stopped alongside Prime, both watching as Megatron turned his helm to the left then right before he turned to both of them.

"He's preparing to expel us," Megatron said, his tone calm.

"Expel us? Oh frag. This is fragging brilliant," Breakdown snapped, gaze snapping around as a high-pitched shriek echoed through the empty chamber. Strange creatures, dark in color with the freaky purple highlights so common inside Unicron, were rushing towards them in a huge, writing mass.

"What are those things?" Bulkhead asked over the sound of the creatures and him and the other Autobots transforming their servos into guns. Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon, optic wheeling about as the wave of creatures moved around.

"As we are within Unicron's body, it stands to reason that they are some sort of antibody," Prime answered, switching his servos into guns. The wave of creatures moved below the walkway Breakdown and the others were standing on then, in one massive surge rushed for them.

At once, every mech began firing their guns at the creatures, hitting and breaking about a few of the swarm. _But not enough_. The swarm kept coming, and they kept firing, but for every creature that was destroyed another seemed to replace it.

Breakdown dodged sideways as one of the creatures smashed into the walkway, its body spinning and flipping but, with a disgusted snarl, Breakdown blasted it to pieces. The visible parts of its body twitched momentarily then stopped moving. Growling, Breakdown wheeled back, gun blazing, on the swarm of creatures.

Fuming, Breakdown moved closer to Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee, still firing his gun at the endless stream of creatures.

The swarm of creatures began to fire back at Breakdown, the Autobots, and Megatron, making each one of them have to guard themselves from the stinging blasts of the creatures. One of the creatures dove for Breakdown but he blasted it away from himself with a shot from his gun. A sudden grunt from Arcee whisked Breakdown's gaze away from the swarm of creatures, just as Arcee was hit in the back by a blast from one of the creatures.

The blue femme fell, but spun midair, slashed through one of the creatures with her arm blade and landed on a walkway below them. Knowing she had landed safely, Breakdown turned back to the fight, smashing away a few creatures with his hammer-servo. The swarm kept coming and, with a furious growl, Breakdown switched his gun to missile mode. He aimed in the middle of a large group of the creatures coming his way and fired. The missile hit one of the creatures, exploding and taking a good amount of the creatures nearest it down with it.

He released another missile into the swarm, which again took down a good number of creatures. Breakdown aimed to fire again when suddenly Bulkhead, who was beside him, fell from the walkway, servo just barely grabbing onto the edge of the walkway.

Bumblebee rushed to Bulkhead, diving to grab the green mech's servo, just as Bulkhead's grasp slipped. Bumblebee snatched onto Bulkhead's servo in time, preventing him from falling to his imminent death.

"'Bee let me go! I'll only take you down with me," Bulkhead urged, though Bumblebee did not oblige. Breakdown snapped his gaze away from the two as a creature smashed into him, pushing him nearly to the edge of the walkway. Engine roaring, Breakdown smashed his servos into it, finally crushing the creature. It fell from him and Breakdown moved away from the walkway edge, before anymore creatures could smash into him and push him over the edge.

"Just let go kid!" Bulkhead's yell snapped Breakdown's attention back to where he and Bumblebee where. Bumblebee himself was starting to slip forwards, and Breakdown could only figure that the scout was losing his precarious hold on Bulkhead. _Frag it_.

Breakdown charged forwards, skidded to a halt beside Bumblebee, who stared at him in utter surprise, plunging his servo down and snatching onto Bulkhead's arm. Bulkhead's weight began to drag on Breakdown, pulling him closer to the edge ever so slightly, but he yanked back on Bulkhead's servo, pulling the green mech up onto the ledge.

Bulkhead stared at Breakdown for a few moments, looking almost as if he wanted to say something to Breakdown, but Bulkhead stopped himself and continued to fire at the swarm. Breakdown did the same, but when Megatron began to charge down the walkway, Breakdown and the others all followed his suit.

Optimus yelled out Arcee's name, then began to shoot at more of the creatures, which were coming faster and larger every moment. Breakdown skidded his pedes across the ground, firing his gun then ran once again after Megatron. They were nearly at the tunnel that lead to the door when Arcee landed in front of them all, turning and charging towards the door with Megatron right behind her.

All six of the mechs ran into the tunnel, but Unicron's creatures were still chasing after them, their actions growing more furious as they neared the door. Breakdown turned around, alongside Bumblebee and Bulkhead and together the three of them began to fire at the swarm.

Soon the sound of Arcee, Optimus and Megatron's guns began to shake from behind the Breakdown, and with it more and more creatures were torn to bits, or promptly exploded. Bulkhead dodged to his side, accidently hitting Breakdown, who stumbled backwards with an indignant roar.

"Watch it, you idiot!" Breakdown snapped, firing his gun over Bulkhead, who flinched noticeably from the blast which nearly skimmed his helm.

Bulkhead didn't say anything, but he did jump away from Breakdown and began to fight back against the swarm. Breakdown continued to smash and fire at any creatures that came near the group, leaping in front of Arcee to block her from one of the creature's blasts. The blast smashed into Breakdown's shoulder plate, the pain shooting from it making him stumble backwards, nearly into Optimus.

Fury burned through his chassis and, as Breakdown straightened up to fight once more he heard Optimus call out Megatron's name. Breakdown snapped his gaze around to his former leader who, clutching at his helm, let out a piercing shriek. Megatron lunged towards Optimus -Breakdown aimed his gun at the Decepticon, ready to fire - but Megatron did not attack Optimus, instead he shoved the prime to his side and fired at a creature diving towards Prime. The creature exploded and Megatron wheeled his purple optics to Optimus.

"Unicron's spark lies just beyond," Megatron's voice was desperate as he raised himself up, pointing to the door and then charging up to it. Breakdown and Optimus followed after Megatron, both of whom continued to fire at the creatures.

"How do we get inside?" Optimus asked, lowering his guns briefly.

"By fooling Unicron defense's into believing we are not a threat," Megatron hissed, the Decepticon symbol placed over his spark chamber began to pulse lividly. Prime watched Megatron for a moment more then, along with Breakdown, turned back to the fight.

Breakdown glanced backwards warily, watching as Megatron halted by the door then, when it opened, began to walk down the deep tunnel the door had opened up to.

"Autobots! I will need you to keep our attackers at bay for as long as you can," Optimus ordered, raising his gun and firing at a large creature.

"We'll try," Breakdown said which, to his surprise, produced a nod from Optimus. Prime seemed to hesitate for one more klick then charged down the tunnel. Once he was through the doors shut, leaving Breakdown, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee all on their own against the increasing wave of creatures.

"We've gotta hold fast. For Optimus!" Bulkhead rallied, his guns blasting with his words.

* * *

Breakdown was running desperately low on energon for his gun. The four of them had been holding their ground for the last half-groon, and Breakdown knew that all of them were reaching the point where they would not be able to stand, figuratively and literally, up against the swarm of creatures.

"How much longer can we do this?" Arcee yelled, her weary gaze flashing to Bulkhead, who was fighting beside Breakdown, then back to the swarm of creatures.

"As long as is needed Arcee!" Bulkhead replied, letting out a cry of pain as he was hit by a blast from one of the creatures. Bumblebee lowered his guns, and rushed to Bulkhead, who pushed him away. "No, we keep fighting! No matter what!"

Breakdown narrowed his optic and continued firing his gun, swinging at any creature that got close enough to his hammer-servos. But the waves and sarms did not end. Creatures kept pouring through the tunnel, firing at Breakdown and the Autobots with unrelenting fury.

One such creature suddenly tore from its ranks, smashing its wing-like apparatuses into Breakdown and Bumblebee, both of whom stumbled back into the wall. Bumblebee whirred with fear as he attempted to escape from the creature's weight, his arms flailing to push the being away. Breakdown snarled, and punched his servo into the creature's face, which made the creature lunge backwards enough for Breakdown to attack it once more. He aimed his gun at it, but it moved too quickly for him.

The creature leapt forward, smashing solely into Breakdown this time, and let loose a rapid burst of fire from itself, which smashed into Breakdown leg. Pain roared through Breakdown, causing him to collapse to his knees. The creature leapt, but was met by a rapid succession of blasts to its face. Writhing, the creature fell away, crumpling dead in front of Breakdown.

"Here," Bulkhead's voice pulled Breakdown out of the fog of pain and up, to where Bulkhead was quickly pulling him to his feet. "You okay?" Breakdown hesitated for a moment, then gave a mild shrug to answer Bulkhead. Bulkhead nodded then turned back to the fight.

Breakdown steadied himself for more battle when suddenly the sound of bodies hitting the metal flooring startled his gaze to the ground. Creature after creature was smashing to the floor, and soon every single creature was lying on the ground motionless.

Bulkhead deactivated his guns and promptly fell to his knee, servo steadying himself as he let out a deep groan.

"Its over?" Arcee asked, her tone disbelieving. Bumblebee trilled something to her which made her snap her gaze to the closed door fearfully. Breakdown tilted his helm towards the door, then glanced over to Arcee.

"What is it?" He asked her, stepping towards her slowly to mask the pain shooting from his leg. Arcee whipped her gaze away from the door, locking her optics onto Breakdown.

"Optimus might be hurt, and he is all alone in there with Megatron. We have to help him."

"How? We can't just open the door like Megatron did?" Bulkhead asked, sidling up to Breakdown at the same time. Arcee opened her mouth then promptly shut it.

"I don't know…" She finally said, her gaze falling to her pedes. Bumblebee snapped his gaze to the door then back to the Autobots but he just shrugged.

Breakdown rolled his optic, then wheeled about suddenly on the door, blasting it open with one of his missiles. Every gaze fell on him, each filled with shock and surprise.

"What? You guys talk too much," Breakdown said, sarcasm ever so slightly noticeable in his tone. Arcee said nothing, though she did shake her helm and let out a small vent.

"Let's go," she said, and with that all four of them charged down the tunnel. Breakdown lagged behind all of them, his leg flaring with pain for each step he took. Thankfully, this tunnel was not as long as the tunnel leading to this area had been and very quickly they reached another door.

When they stopped at the door, Bumblebee, Arcee and Bulkhead all turned their optics to Breakdown.

"Umh… What?" He asked, confused as to why they were just staring at him.

"Uh, blast the door?" Bulkhead offered up, pointing to the door behind him.

Breakdown let out a hysterical snort, rolling his optic skyward. "That was my last missile, Bulkhead. I guess we will have to destroy it the old-fashioned way."

"And what way would that be?" Arcee asked slowly.

Breakdown turned to Bulkhead ever so briefly, then let a small smile arc over his faceplate.

"Wrecker-style."

Bulkhead's optics lit at the words and so he whipped around, running back down the tunnel aways.

"What is he doing?" Arcee asked, glaring at Breakdown.

"Hmm. I would suggest moving, Arcee, and you will see," Breakdown told her, moving away from the door just as Bulkhead charged towards them. Arcee suddenly seemed to get the hint as she and Bumblebee both scrambled away from the door, with Bumblebee zipping behind Breakdown. Breakdown glanced at the scout then watched, satisfactorily, as Bulkhead leapt, smashing his servo-turned-mace straight into the middle of the door.

The door fell from Bulkhead's hit, crashing to the floor and reveling Optimus and Megatron standing very close to each other. Bulkhead clambered over the door, with Breakdown following close behind.

"Optimus, are you okay?" Bulkhead asked as Arcee and Bumblebee leapt over the rim of the broken door, landing beside Breakdown and Bulkhead.

"Why did he call me that?" Breakdown overheard Optimus ask Megatron, whose optics - now red, rather than purple - were blazing with triumph. Megatron turned his gaze to Optimus, saying nothing in response.

Immediately, Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee began to run towards their leader, but Breakdown didn't.

_Something is very wrong here._

"What did you do to him?" Arcee snarled, her stance narrowed for battle.

"Who are they?" Optimus asked, confusion flush over his faceplate. Before Megatron could answer a GroundBridge opened up behind the two leaders, which drew Optimus' and Megatron's gazes straight to it.

"Our mortal enemies!" Megatron suddenly exclaimed, turning and placing a servo against Prime's chassis. "We're outnumbered, go, I'll cover you!" As Optimus raced for the Bridge, Megatron raised his cannon at the Autobots and fired. The blast sent all of them flying, each crashing to the ground with a heavy _thud_.

Megatron continued to fire at them as Breakdown, Arcee and Bulkhead all scrambled to their pedes and rushed towards Megatron. Megatron fired once more at them and then ran into the GroundBridge, which snapped shut just as Breakdown and the Autobots reached it.

"No…" Arcee gasped, horror tearing through her voice. But none of them had the chance to truly comprehend what had happened as their own GroundBridge opened up, just behind them.

Breakdown turned his back on the spot where Megatron and Optimus had gone through Soundwave's GroundBridge, and walked towards the Autobots' GroundBridge. Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead all hesitated but followed after him, all four of them crossing through the Bridge dejectedly.

* * *

"Arcee!"

"I was worried Bulk!"

"You alright, 'Bee?"

Jack, Miko and Rafael were gathered before Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Breakdown. Breakdown turned away from the humans and limped away from the rest of the Autobots, not caring anymore about hiding the pain he was feeling from the battle with the creatures. He passed by Ratchet, just as the medic let out a soft noise.

"And Optimus? Is he?"

"Dead? No," Arcee said.

"But he looked right at us without recognizing us. He didn't even know his own name," Bulkhead added, the disbelief and sadness obvious in his voice, even to Breakdown.

"When Optimus surrender the Matrix of Leadership, he lost more than the collective wisdom of the Primes', he lost his own memories," Ratchet surmised.

Breakdown stopped before entering the tunnel that lead to his - and the Autobots' - quarters, optic turning skyward.

_And now he's with Megatron and the Decepticons._


	12. Chapter 12

"In hindsight we accomplished what was required. With Unicron's awakening, extreme measures needed to be taken. Enemies became allies, allies became confidants and, with the Matrix of Leadership, planet Earth was saved. Thought at immeasurable personal costs.

"When Optimus surrender the Matrix he lost more than the collected wisdom of the Primes', he lost himself," Ratchet said, turning to what remained of the Autobots surrounding him. Breakdown was leaning against the raised platform that supported the GroundBridge controls. Bumblebee was closest to him, then it was Arcee and Bulkhead.

Not even a half-groon had passed since the group of them had returned to the Autobot base without Optimus and so far, all they had been able to do was discuss the loss of Optimus. All of them - well, except for Breakdown - had been so busy discussing thus that none of them had had the chance to rest or recover from their battle.

_Autobots, so worried about everyone else they never stop to think about themselves. It's almost suffocating to think about how selfless they all are._

"That doesn't follow, Optimus knew Megatron," Arcee said, for what seemed like the fourth time so far.

"Yea, they were like BFFs," Bulkhead added, which made Breakdown wonder what in the Pit a BFF was. He didn't ask though as he did not favor seeming like an idiot in front of the group of Autobots and humans.

Bumblebee beeped something, which Breakdown still didn't understand - not that he cared, really, seeing as Bumblebee chirped all the time - but Ratchet nodded slowly to the yellow scout.

"Optimus did not know his own name, perhaps it is because the title of Prime hasn't yet been granted to him."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Say again?" Miko asked, her confusion matching that of Fowler's and Jack's exclamations.

"With the power of the Matrix no longer within him, it would stand to reason that Optimus has reverted to his pre-Prime state. The historical archivist, Orion Pax," Ratchet answered, with ever the smallest hint of distance echoing in his voice.

"You mean in his mind?" Nurse Darby added, which made Agent Fowler snap, "You're telling me Prime thinks he's some kind of, library? And a Decepticon?"

_Not that there is - was - nothing wrong with being a Decepticon_ , Breakdown thought to himself, though he was being more sarcastic than anything.

Ratchet shook his helm at Fowler's question, optics moving briefly to Breakdown before shifting back to the human. "Being a Decepticon is a choice, Agent Fowler, one that I have a hard time believing Optimus would make at any point in his life."

"So if he's riding with the 'Cons-" Bulkhead left unfinished, gaze shifting to Arcee, who finished what he was saying.

"It's because Megatron is working some kind of voodoo."

Ratchet turned back to the Autobots, "Orion Pax may not currently be an Autobot up here," Ratchet pointed to his helm, "but I must believe he will never stop being one… in here." Ratchet's voice shook as he placed one servo over his spark chamber, optics falling distantly before he lowered his servo and set his mouth determinedly.

"We must locate him to know for certain."

"Hold up, I have a chip lodged in my behind that lets Uncle Sam know when I stop for donuts. Are you telling me, you can't just track Prime?"

"Obviously not," Breakdown muttered to himself, which no one overheard.

"Optimus' signal has not reappeared since he embarked for Earth's core. But we must get to work finding him, if we have any hope of initiating his contingency plan."

That finally got Breakdown's full attention, making him move from the elevated platform and next to Bumblebee, who glanced at him quickly then back to Ratchet.

"Contingency plan?" Arcee asked confusedly.

"What contingency?" Bulkhead asked, which made Breakdown roll his optic.

"Is that even a word?" Miko asked genuinely.

Breakdown smacked his helm with one servo, letting out a muffled groan. _No wonder why Miko is Bulkhead's pet. They're exactly the same and as dumb as a Dinobot._

"The key card?" Jack realized, raising up a strange blue object. "So what does it do?"

"It grants access to Vector Sigma, the repository of the wisdom of the Primes," Ratchet offered to the human.

"That connects to Vector Sigma?" Breakdown asked, bewildered. _But I thought Vector Sigma was on Cybertron?_

Ratchet turned to Breakdown and nodded, "Yes. It does."

"Uh, is that some sort of supercomputer?" Rafael asked, glancing up to Jack, who glanced back up to Ratchet.

"So we can just download Optimus' memories back to him? Great! Which one is the Big V?" Jack asked, twisting to the side. "Over here? Somewhere in back?"

"Vector Sigma is more than a supercomputer, Jack, it is an ancient source of mystical power," Ratchet's helm fell as he explained this to the human, who stared straight at the Key wordlessly. "On Cybertron."

Jack's mother wheeled on the younger, dark-haired human, servos pressed against her hips. "Jackson Darby, you will _not_ be traveling to another planet."

"I'm in!" Miko offered, servo pressing against her chest.

"You're not going either, Miko!" Nurse Darby snapped, "Not when one of _you_ can." Her gaze whipped to Breakdown, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead accusatorially, which made Bumblebee shrug his shoulders.

"June's right. Why send the boy to do a 'Bot's job?" Fowler snapped.

"Because only a Prime can access Vector Sigma, or one chosen by a Prime. Optimus gave the Key-card to Jack. It is now imprinted with his unique biosignature," Ratchet replied, while Jack stared at the Key with utter shock blazing through his optics.

"So you mean Jack's some kind of honorary Prime?" Miko turned to Ratchet, who vented softly.

"Let's just say that Jack is the only one who can return Optimus to the Autobot we knew."

"But why would Optimus willfully endanger a human? A child?" Nurse Darby asked, indicating to her son.

"Uh! I'm not a child, mom!" Jack gasped afronttedly.

"Maybe Optimus believes that there is more to Jack than meets the eye," Arcee pondered.

"All of which is moot. The Key-card is useless to us without a means of reaching Cybertron. Which we, at present, do not posses," Ratchet said, defeat echoing from his voice.

Miko hurried to the edge of the raised platform all the humans were standing on, then pointed to the Ground Bridge. "Dude, what about _that_?"

"Miko, the Ground Bridge barely got them into Earth's orbit, remember?" Rafael reminded the young female, who turned to him with a slight scoff.

"Yeah but Ratchet built it. Can't he just turbocharge the thing?"

Ratchet turned to Miko, optics snapping to the GroundBridge as a tight, pondering scowl crossed over his faceplate. The medic raised a servo to his chin, running his digits down it without a word.

Breakdown turned his gaze away from the medic, watching disinterestedly as Nurse Darby turned to the three kids standing near her.

"Ok all of you. It is time I take each of you home-"

"No need!" Bulkhead interrupted, his previously worried expression changing to one of excitement as his optics landed on Miko. "I can take Miko home for you."

Nurse Darby narrowed her eyes, opening her mouth to respond to Bulkhead but Breakdown interrupted her.

"I don't think so, Bulkhead. We are all tired from our fights with the Unicron avatars and his creatures. The human can drive your pet home and you - this includes you Arcee and Bumblebee - should smartly stay and rest." Bulkhead looked close to arguing with Breakdown but seemed to think better of it and, with one last glance to Miko, turned and walked towards his quarters. Arcee glared at Breakdown then followed after Bulkhead, with Bumblebee right behind her.

"Uh, thanks for that- Uh, what is your name again?" Nurse Darby asked, drawing Breakdown's gaze to her.

"Breakdown," he snapped, not interested in getting chatty with humans after such a tiring and long day.

"Oh, I don't really remember you from when Jack introduced me to the Autobots. Were you, ah, injured?" Nurse Darby asked, gesturing to Breakdown's optic patch. Anger burned through Breakdown's chassis at her blase words, and so he lowered his helm ill he was glaring her right in the optics.

"I was a Decepticon until a few weeks ago, _human_. That is why you don't 'remember' me all that well, since I was the enemy to your child's motorcycle." Breakdown whipped around and stormed away from the humans and the base, transforming into his alt mode and charging out of the entrance tunnel.

* * *

"Ratchet! You awake? This is an emergency," Agent Fowler's voice ripped over the base's comms, drawing Breakdown's attention to it. Ratchet rose up from where he had been working on the GroundBridge controls, switching off his welder as he answered the human.

"Agent Fowler? Is it Optimus?"

"It's 'Cons, and they are busting into the same military research lab they hit two months ago," Agent Fowler explained as Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee approached the area Ratchet was working. Breakdown moved to his pedes, walking up behind the three Autobots.

"Another Space Bridge?" Bulkhead asked, gaze turned to Bumblebee, who had beeped a bit earlier.

"For all we know, Optimus is riding with them," Arcee quipped.

Ratchet turned to the group, his paint shining with the green flare of the now active GroundBridge.

"Roll out!"

* * *

Smoke was the first thing that Breakdown saw as he burst through the Ground Bridge alongside Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Arcee. The four mechs landed on the hard pavement of the base's runway, and when they did Breakdown stepped back slightly.

Knock Out was there, alongside a mech that Breakdown had never seen before in the Decepticon ranks. This one was an immense femme, with two huge wings that protruded from her back and what looked like tank treads running down her arms and legs. She was carrying a huge white power generator over one shoulder, while her unoccupied servo was a huge cannon pointed right at them.

"Drop the power source!" bulkhead snarled, charging for Knock Out and his new, unfamiliar companion.

"Aren't you missing someone?" Knock Out hissed back in response, his optics pointed firmly away from Breakdown, who had skidded to a halt beside the three Autobots. Knock Out's companion smiled, her blood red optics blazing as she looked upwards to three Eradicons, all in jet mode, diving towards them.

The Eradicons began firing their blasters at Breakdown and the others, which made Arcee and Bumblebee turn backwards and run from the blasts while Bulkhead fired back one of his own shots, hitting and taking down one of the Eradicons. Breakdown looked away from the Eradicons, and charged for Knock Out.

Knock Out stepped backwards, frantically calling for a Bridge, when his companion smashed into Breakdown's side. The force of her hitting into him caused Breakdown to stumble far to the right, pain biting through his chassis as she smashed her cannon servo into his helm. Breakdown stumbled backwards as a dizzying rush of blackness swamped his mind, almost knocking him into stasis, but he shook it away just as the soft chime of a GroundBridge being activated drew his gaze up to Knock Out once again.

The red Decepticon had been joined by his companion again, but once the GroundBridge was fully materialized she charged through it, leaving Knock Out behind. He turned his helm towards the Autobots and saucily said, "We'll be sure to tell the Big O you said hello." With that Knock Out gave them a mock salute and ran into the GroundBridge.

"Arcee, no!" Bulkhead's cry snapped Breakdown's attention to the two-wheeler suddenly transforming into her alt mode and charging towards the GroundBridge, all the while dodging blast after blast from the Eradicons. Just as the Bridge began to close, Arcee disappeared through it, the Bridge snapping shut.

The two Eradicons flashed overhead and zoomed away, the sound of Bulkhead's pedes approaching Breakdown turning his gaze to the green mech.

"Does she always act so crazy?" Breakdown asked, gesturing mildly towards where Arcee had vanished into the GroundBridge. Bulkhead shrugged, then turned away from him, placing one servo to his helm.

"Ratchet, send us a Bridge," he asked, his voice hollow with dejection.

A moment later a Ground Bridge opened up behind the two mechs, which Bumblebee walked through almost at once. Bulkhead glanced towards Breakdown and marched through the Bridge. Breakdown followed Bulkhead, but stopped at the edge of the Ground Bridge and turned his gaze back to where the Decepticon GroundBridge had vanished.

_Who was that with Knock Out?_ Breakdown shook his helm, then walked through the Autobots' GroundBridge.

* * *

"You weren't able to determine the Decepticon's location or if Optimus was even aboard ship?" Ratchet asked Arcee as he finished scanning the frame of her leg. Ratchet had opened up a GroundBridge from her only a click or two after Breakdown and the others had walked into the Autobot base, and when the medic had learned that Soundwave had sent her to the Arctic, he had immediately begun checking her over for any sign of frost damage.

Arcee straightened up from where she had been seated, her helm falling with defeat turning her optics dull. "I couldn't confirm."

Bulkhead let out a loud roar and swung to his left, which was where Breakdown was standing but he dodged out of the way in time to miss getting hit by Bulkhead's fists only just. Bulkhead's fist smashed into a drill, which made blue sparks race over it.

"Bulkhead-" Ratchet began, disbelief flaring in his optics.

"What? You needed that? Only thing I need is our head honcho back!" Bulkhead roared, clashing his servos together with a resonate clang. Breakdown shot Bulkhead a cold glare, which he returned briefly, before Bulkhead turned back to where Ratchet, Arcee and Jack were.

"It's not your fault," Jack tried to reassure Arcee, though even Breakdown knew _that_ was pointless.

"If any of us needed rescuing, Optimus would have found a way. _I_ didn't. Simple as that," Arcee finished, tightening her arms around her frame as she looked away from her human.

"Ratchet!" The sound of Agent Fowler's voice drew the attention of everyone in the base to the HUDs, where Fowler's face was flaring across the screens. "What happened out there? Reports indicate at least a dozen wounded and the heat is on me to provide some explanation. You 'Bots better get your act together, or the Pentagon will make me shut down your base." With that cheerful note, the agent signed off of the communication link, the image of his livid face vanishing into static lines.

"But, where would you go?" Rafael asked, looking towards Ratchet.

"Who knows? Maybe they will ship us out to some island, or fire us into space. Wouldn't that be a welcome relief?" Ratchet snapped, throwing up one servo into the air dramatically.

"I don't blame Fowler, Optimus would have evacuated all humans in the area _before_ engaging the 'Cons," Arcee snapped back, her glare fully on Ratchet. Bumblebee trilled something, then turned his gaze to Bulkhead.

"We don't actually know what Optimus would have done, because he's not here!" Bulkhead snarled, glaring down at Arcee, who got up from where she was still sitting and turned on the green mech.

"You're pretty good at stating the obvious, Bulk. Anything else you would like to mention that we _already_ know?"

"Nothing I can say in front of the children," Bulkhead said, lowering himself down to Arcee's height.

"Oh, who cares," Breakdown suddenly snapped, interrupting Bulkhead and Arcee glaring match as they all turned their attention to him. "So what if some humans got injured? What really matters is that your enemies got their servos on a power source for their Space Bridge. I would imagine that is more important than some poor, injured humans? Right?"

Arcee looked stunned at Breakdown's words, then suddenly let out a growl from her engine. "Breakdown-"

"Hey! Stop! Listen to Breakdown for once, he's the only one here who has actually mentioned the fact that the Decepticons did get that power source-"

"Yes," Ratchet scoffed, "we managed to finally allow them to acquire a power source for their Space Bridge."

"And how exactly would that be a positive?" Arcee asked as she bent down to the humans.

"We let them finish building their Space Bridge," Jack offered, his gaze determined.

"Why? So they can bring back more zombies from Cybertron?" Bulkhead growled, glaring down at the humans.

"No, so we can commandeer it. And use it to send me to Cybertron," Jack said, pointing his thumb digit to his face.

"Whoa, that is a pretty good idea," Miko agreed, her optics turning approvingly to Jack.

"Ohho, well if _Miko_ thinks its a good idea-" Arcee scoffed.

"Nobody is saying it will be easy, but you've seized a Space Bridge before," Jack said, cutting off Arcee's sarcastic retort.

"We blew one up! That is a whole lot different than three of us seizing and holding one," Bulkhead said, Bumblebee letting out a swift string of beeps and trills.

"'Bee's right, we'd have to find it first," Arcee said, rolling her optics slightly.

"Hello! If it's a Space bridge, isn't it," Miko pointed up to the ceiling of the base to finish her sentence.

"The term Space refers to its transport range, not its _physical_ location. And we've been monitoring Earth's orbit since the last one, we'd know if it were there."

"Uh-" Breakdown began but before he could voice what he was trying to say, Jack interrupted him.

"So the Bridge could be somewhere right here on Earth?"

"Well-"

"It would be like trying to find a servo in a scrapyard." It was Bulkhead this time who interrupted Breakdown, making him growl to himself angrily.

"Would yo-"

"Then we better start looking," Arcee said, yet again interrupting Breakdown, who this time smacked a servo to his helm. Bumblebee turned to Arcee and beeped something to her, but she ignored him also.

"But the fact remains, we do not know what the Decepticons have in store for Optimus, or if he is truly safe from harm."

"I-"

"And what if he isn't, what then Ratchet?" Arcee snarled. Breakdown's engine let out a dangerous rumble as, for the fourth time he had been interrupted by the Autobots. Bumblebee for some reason glanced towards Breakdown, then back to the Autobots, letting out another pointless string of beeps.

Breakdown gave up, turning and stomping away from the Autobots. He came to a stop at the edge of the base's main room, shuttering his optic as the voices of the Autobots continued to raise in argument.

Finally the Autobots stopped arguing, Ratchet silencing them all with a loud rumble from his engine. Arcee and Bulkhead stomped away from each other, while Bumblebee stuck close to his human, who Ratchet was busy talking with.

_The Autobots are so crazed about finding their leader, they don't even think about the fact that I was once a Decepticon, and I might know something valuable to them. And laughably, I do. I know_ exactly _where Megatron's Space Bridge is, so long as he didn't move it that is, but what is the point of trying to tell them if all they are going to do is ignore me?_

Breakdown vented, leaning against the base wall and slid down the wall, till he was sitting on the metal flooring. He leaned his helm against his chest, and, with an exhausted yawn, fell into a cold, empty recharge.

* * *

"Is the test subject ready?" Ratchet's voice snapped Breakdown from recharge, the ex-Decepticon scrambling up from the ground, optic snapping around for danger. Realizing everything was fine, and he was safe, Breakdown eased up, turning curiously to where ratchet was.

The medic was standing at the GroundBridge controls, while Rafael was standing very close to the Ground Bridge itself with a small remote operated car. Rafael twisted the wheels on the car with his remote, then turned to Ratchet.

"Check. Long range GPS activated."

"I have doubts whether my recalibrations have successfully extended Ground Bridge range, but, there is only one way to find out." Ratchet sounded unconvinced of himself as he pulled the Ground Bridge levers, the portal opening up in moments. Wanting to see what the two were up to, Breakdown headed over to them, placing his servos on his hips as he stopped beside Rafael.

Once it was fully active, Rafael drove his remote car into the GroundBridge. Ratchet strode up to the boy and watched as the car began to hit the streams.

"Come on," Ratchet urged, as the car went deeper into the Ground Bridge's streams, but it began to shake and spark, finally exploding and crumpling to the ground. The GroundBridge itself shut off, without Ratchet doing it, which made Breakdown think that the Bridge could not handle the amount of energy it was putting out.

Ratchet only let out a sigh, optics shuttering closed as he shook his helm defeatedly. Rafael looked up at Ratchet, remote still in hand, optics determined.

"It was only the first try-"

"No, Rafeal, it was pure folly. A misguided act of desperation, it takes eons to master Space Bridge engineering, and no one is more accomplished than the Decepticons."

Breakdown tilted his helm, shifting his pedes lightly so he could watch the human and Ratchet. He said nothing about his knowledge of the Decepticon Space Bridge, as he could still feel a rash of irritation burning in his spark at the Autobots. Rafael seemed to ponder something for a moment, then turned to Ratchet.

"You know, there is this thing in gym class where you have to climb a rope all the way to the ceiling. It's really hard and I've never been able to do it but, when I told 'Bee about it, he believed in me, which made me practice a ton. Finally, just a couple of weeks ago, I made it, to the top."

Ratchet wheeled on the kid, rage turning his blue optics to ice. "What does any of this have to do with gym class?!"

_Whoa, harsh._

"I, uh, I was just-"

Ratchet vented, interrupting the kid, and turned back to the HUDs screen.

"I'll give you some alone time," Rafael said, heading away from the medic, who tilted his helm up with a depressed vent.

"Optimus, I am so sorry."

Breakdown rubbed his digits together, disinterestedly watching Ratchet mope over his HUDs. _Do I? Hmm, nah. I think I will wait._

Ratchet turned to glance at Breakdown as he stood behind the medic, but Ratchet said nothing to him, turning back to his screens and into himself. Breakdown glanced up at the screens, optic catching the location of the base, then to a random point, followed by another random set of coordinates.

"You won't find anything that way, Ratchet," Breakdown said, though he wasn't even surprised when Ratchet ignored what he was saying. "Fine, whatever."

"Ratchet, could you open a Ground Bridge?" Bulkhead's voice over the comms gave a start to Ratchet, who promptly shook himself then walked up to the GroundBridge controls, which Breakdown had been standing in front of.

Breakdown moved aside for Ratchet, who ignored him and pulled the levers to the GroundBridge. The green light began to flood the base, and with it a soft vent from ratchet. Breakdown turned to the medic, concern for Ratchet snaking through his spark. Since Optimus had been taken by Megatron, Ratchet seemed not himself, growy snappy at everyone and also being overly distant.

_Oh, fine. I'll tell them, just so Ratchet can stop moping around all the time_ , Breakdown decided, reaching out and placing a servo onto Ratchet's shoulderplates.

Ratchet turned to him, his optics dull and nearly lifeless. "Yes, Breakdown?"

"Call Arcee and Bumblebee back from wherever they are."

"Uh… Why?"

"Ugh, just do it. Would you?" Breakdown snapped, releasing his servo from Ratchet and stomping away from the GroundBridge, just as Bulkhead drove through it in his alt mode.

"No sign of an energon spike," Bulkhead told Ratchet as he walked up to the medic, who had begun entering the coordinates of the other two Autobots into the GroundBridge control panel. "Arcee or 'Bee find the Space Bridge?"

"They haven't yet reported back." but I'm calling them back either way."

"Ratchet, you alright?" Bulkhead asked moving a little bit closer to the Autobot medic. Ratchet glanced up at him, but Breakdown could tell how distracted and distant he was.

"Hmm? Yes, yes, I'm fine. Stay here though, I'm calling back the others," Ratchet said, tone dull.

"Why?" Bulkhead asked, but Ratchet did not respond as he activated the GroundBridge once again. A few moments passed and then both Arcee and Bumblebee drove through the Bridge, both transforming out of their alt modes with matching worried expressions.

"What is it Ratchet? Did you find something?" Arcee asked, rushing up to the medic, who only glanced down at her for a moment before shaking his helm.

"No, I did not find anything, but _he_ wanted you two to come back," Ratchet said, pointing to Breakdown, who stiffened out of lax position as the four Autobots turned to him.

"What? Why would Breakdown want _us_ to come back to base?" Arcee asked, turning back to Ratchet, who shrugged in response.

"No idea," was all the medic offered to the femme. Arcee whipped her gaze back to Breakdown, servos clenching dangerously.

"You better explain what made you think you could have Ratchet bring us back here, Breakdown. And fast," Arcee snarled.

"Ok, relax, Arcee. I wanted Ratchet to bring you guys back here for one reason-"

"And that would be?" Bulkhead interrupted. Breakdown clenched his servos, he was so _irritated_ with the constant interruptions, but he shook his helm. _I'm going to do this._

"Well, Bulkhead, it is pretty simple. None of you ever seemed to think a thing about the fact that you have a _former_ Decepticon living with you, right?"

"Uh… I guess? So what?" Bulkhead said, glancing towards Arcee, who looked as confused as he did.

Breakdown dug his servo into his faceplate, engine growling frustratedly. "So what? So what is the fact that I know exactly where the Decepticon Space Bridge is. For Primus' sake, I even _worked_ on it before I left the Decepticons. So why, in all this time, did none of you even _think_ to ask your local Decepticon expert where the Pit the Primus forsaken SPACE BRIDGE WAS!?"

Every single Autobots' mouth fell open in utter shock from Breakdown's outburst. Ratchet looked stunned, but then his optics began to glow with life once again. Bulkhead and Bumblebee said nothing, though Arcee stuttered for a minute, then shook her helm.

"You knew? You knew where the Space Bridge was and you never tried to tell us before?" Arcee choked out, unbridled anger beginning to blaze within her optics.

Breakdown let out a disbelieving laugh, "Oh, that's golden Arcee. I _didn't_ try and tell you guys? Oh, trust me, I did. But each time I tried, you all interrupted me. So who is to blame?"

Arcee opened her mouth to protest but Bumblebee whipped his helm to her and beeped something very loud and angry at her. She stepped back from him, then turned her helm back to Breakdown.

"So you really did try and tell us?" Arcee's optics seemed almost to reflect shame, but it was gone so fast that Breakdown swore he had imagined it more than anything.

"Yeah, I did," Breakdown shrugged, turning his attention to his servos.

"Breakdown," Ratchet's voice, both desperate and soft, pulled Breakdown's attention to the medic, who beckoned him over to him, "please, give me the coordinates to the Space Bridge's location."

"Fine," Breakdown vented, moving up to the GroundBridge controls and typing in the coordinates. Ratchet turned to him but before the medic could say anything a strange beeping noise came from the HUDs. Every helm whipped to it, with Artchet moving up to it.

"What is it?" Bulkhead asked first, tilting his helm towards Ratchet.

"A high-frequency signal with an embedded message," Ratchet tapped the HUDs controls, then jolted back slightly, "for _me_."

"Optimus?" Bulkhead asked hopefully.

Ratchet clicked the message, his entire chassis growing rigid as he let out a low snarl. "Starscream."

" _I have obtained information regarding your leader. Bring medical kit, come alone."_

Slowly, tortuously slowly, every optic turned to Breakdown who backed away from them slightly. Breakdown couldn't hide the rage stoking in his spark at the thought of Starscream, the mech responsible for Breakdown living with the Autobots. And also being the mech who nearly killed him, or was a near cause of Breakdown dying, twice.

"What? I have _nothing_ to do with Starscream. Don't look at me like that," Breakdown snapped defensively. "Anyways, did any of you wonder why Starscream of all mechs is contacting us? He is a Decepticon through and through, and if you were smart you wouldn't trust him, or anything he says."

To his relief, the Autobots all did look away from him and began muttering amongst themselves, with Ratchet finally setting his jaw determinedly.

"Bulkhead, you are coming with me. We'll go there, get the information from Starscream and, then we will know if Breakdown's data pans out correctly."

Ratchet moved back to the GroundBridge controls, logged in Starscream coordinates and together, he and Bulkhead headed through the GroundBridge. Breakdown turned and watched and waited.

* * *

"The Decepticon Space Bridge is located here, deep within an Energon mine, precisely where Breakdown's coordinates led to," Ratchet said, turning around to the four mechs gathered behind him.

"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply. Clever. I'm just surprised Starscream of all mechs didn't lie to us," Arcee said, shrugging her shoulderplates lightly.

Ratchet turned to the humans, whom he had called to the base after coming back from meeting up with Starscream. "So, do we have a consensus?"

"Do we know if people can even _breathe_ your atmosphere?" Nurse Darby asked, ever the concerned one.

"I'll hook Jack up," Fowler said, which drew Nurse Darby's gaze to him, "completely state of the art. I still have connections at NASA."

"It's too dangerous…"

"Mom, I know that this is hard but Optimus risked his life to save our planet, and he's not even human. We owe it to him," Jack told his mom, who still looked unhappy about sending her kid to a foreign planet.

_I get that. I didn't want to come here, to be honest._

"Jack may be the only one who can do this, June, but I don't want you to think for one moment that I'll allow him to travel unchaperoned," Arcee said as she walked up to where the humans were standing, gazing up at them upon the raised platform.

"Not everyone is destined for an ordinary life, Optimus Prime was once Orion Pax afterall," Ratchet explained to Jack's mom, who turned back to Jack.

"When you were little, you always wanted to be an astronaut."

* * *

"We will GroundBridge directly into the Energon mine, and make our way to the Space Bridge chamber, neutralizing any Decepticon forces we encounter. Once we secure the Space Bridge, we'll send for Jack. Stealth must be an absolute priority, we will most certainly be outnumbered, and if any Decepticon should transmit an alert to their warship-"

"The odds become 400-1," Bulkhead interjected Ratchet's words, though Ratchet seemed unbothered by it.

"Scrambling communications upon entry will certainly provide an edge, in this regard," Ratchet finished.

"Taking the Bridge is the easy part, you four need to hold it long enough for Jack and me to get to Cybertron and back," Arcee said, her optics burning.

"If Rafeal can climb to the top of the rope in gym class, we can do this," Ratchet said, which made Breakdown roll his optic.

_Not this again._

"Uh, what does gym class have to do with anything?" Miko asked, tone laden with sarcasm, "And if Ratchet gets to go on a commando raid, I'm going too."

"Miko, you will help Rafael operate our GroundBridge and manage the communications hub," Ratchet informed her, to which she let out a frustrated growl and stormed other to Rafeal, all the while muttering to herself moodily.

"And Nurse Darby will stand by in case of emergency."

"Son, it's time to suit up," Agent Fowler said, walking up to Jack and placing one servo on the kid's shoulder. The humans all moved away from the Autobots and Breakdown, which gave time for the five mechs to turn to each other.

"Breakdown, what are some things we should know before we go?" Ratchet asked, turning his full attention on Breakdown.

"Well, depending on when we get to the Space Bridge, there should be at least 80 Vehicons on guard. We most likely will have 30 klicks before a shift comes, or even sooner if one of the Bridge control officers on the _Nemesis_ get suspicious with how there has been no contact from one of the Vehicons at the Space Bridge. I'm not really sure but we need to be wary of how much time we spend there."

"Good to know," Ratchet said, walking up to the GroundBridge controls. "Are we ready?" He asked, which drew a nod from Breakdown, Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee. Ratchet nodded too, then activated the GroundBridge.

* * *

"Clear," Bulkhead whispered, lowering his cannon and turning to the four mechs behind him. Breakdown slunk around Bulkhead, gaze wary as Arcee noted her side was clear too. Ratchet beckoned the group and they all followed the medic down a large tunnel of the Energon mine. Soon, they reached an larger chamber, with all of them slowly slinking up to a large, inactive drill.

Arcee crept over the top of the drill, disagreeing over the top as the sound of metal smashing into metal and grunts of pain echoed through the chamber. Ratchet signaled for the rest to move around, with Bumblebee charging out first. Bulkhead followed right after, then Breakdown and Ratchet.

As Breakdown and RAtchet came around the edge of the drill , Breakdown spotted a Vehicon still standing, who was backing away very quickly.

"Command, this is Space Bridge control, we are under attack. Command, do you rea-" Before the Vehicon, who Breakdown knew as Rust, could even finish his sentence he was sent flying by Bulkhead's mace, the small mechs chassis hitting the ground with a hard thud.

Ratchet walked up to the still Vehicon, raising one digit to his mouth and let out a soft _shhh_ noise, before turning to the Autobots and charging down another tunnel. Breakdown hesitated for a moment, stopping at the fallen body of Rust, and then turning his gaze to the two other fallen Vehicons.

"Sorry, guys," he said softly, then charged after the Autobots, who all skidded to a stop on the platform of a lift.

Breakdown leapt on and it began its descent, stopping behind an Eradicon - _was that Jetslip?_ \- before Bulkhead said, "Going down," and smashed his maces together against Jetslip's helm, crushing it. Breakdown looked away and followed after the Autobots, discomfort tugging at his spark. He hated seeing mechs he knew quite well, so easily being picked off, all in the name of rescuing the Autobots' leader.

But the focus of his thoughts changed as all five of them charged into the Space Bridge chamber, the immensity of it so much more grand now that it was complete, than when Breakdown had been working here.

"By the Allspark," Ratchet breathed, awe evident in his voice.

"Thank you, Starscream," Arcee said though, when Breakdown shot her a nasty glare, she hastily added, "and Breakdown."

Bulkhead turned and, with a groan of pistons, heaved a drill over the lip of the Space Bridge platform, the sound of blasters firing, then two grunts of pain following noting the loss of two more Vehicons.

_Stop thinking about it_ , Breakdown though, moving with the Autobots toward the platform, of whom Arcee and Bumblebee were shooting rapidly at the Vehicons blocking their path. The Vehicons stood no chance to their rapid firing, each one falling with little fight. One last Vehicon remained, his blaster firing wildly at Arcee, who leapt up and fired at his back until he died.

Breakdown turned his helm away from the carnage of his former friends, moving up with Ratchet to the Space Bridge control panel.

"Amazing. A masterpiece of engineering," Ratchet sounded beyond awe as he looked upon the deep purple and blue screen, servo moving to the control area.

"Operational?" Arcee asked.

"Fully," Ratchet affirmed, turning to her with an ever so hopeful glow in his optics.

"Perimeter secured," Bulkhead said from below the platform.

"Well, that's good," Arcee said, turning to Ratchet, who smiled back at her. "Now the scary part-"

"I DON'T THINK SO AUTOBOTS."

A voice boomed through the chamber, sending jolts of terror down Breakdown's backstrut. This voice was not one he recognized from the Decepticon ranks. His gaze snapped to and fro, stopping at the ceiling where something huge suddenly shifted on the ceiling.

"What is that?" Bulkhead squealed, rushing up beside Arcee, as the thing on the ceiling suddenly dropped to the platform. Shadow still covered the creature but Breakdown was getting a feeling of who exactly this was and, as the immense mech strode out of the shadows with her blood-red optics burning with hunger, and huge pedes hitting the ground with an echoing thunder, he gulped. It was the femme that Knock Out had been working with.

She halted at the mouth of the Space Bridge then, with a sharp _snap_ of her clawed servos snapping open, she glared right at all five mechs before her.

"You are not going any farther than you already have, Autobots."

With those words, the femme suddenly shifted into a huge, single-barreled tank with spikes ridging all the way from tread to tread, and fired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's Razortalon there at the end. She's an original Decepticon I created. She is crazy. She experiments on humans for the fun of it. She only just came to Earth, at the request from Megatron.


	13. Chapter 13

Breakdown dove aside, dodging the Decepticon's blast, but Bumblebee was not fortunate. For, as the scout had turned from the blast, it had hit right in front of him, sending the yellow Autobot hurtling over the edge of the platform on Breakdown's side.

Breakdown snapped his gaze to the huge, imposing tank, her all-black paint making her ever more menacing as she angled her tank cannon towards Breakdown. He scrambled to his feet as the cannon began to charge, lighting up a row of red biolights that pulsed all over her chassis, and before he could move any further her cannon fired.

Something hit Breakdown in the side, shoving him to the ground just as the hot red blast flew over his chassis. Breakdown turned, nodding thanks to Ratchet, who leapt up from Breakdown and raced for the tank. Breakdown shook himself - _get your head in the game!_ \- and raced after Ratchet, activating his shoulder cannon and sending a red blast right at the tank's cannon.

But before Breakdown's shots could hit the femme Decepticon she shifted once again, this time switching into a huge jet, the tank cannon now a fixed to the underbelly of the Decepticon.

"A _triple-changer_?!" Arcee shrieked from somewhere to Breakdown's right, voicing Breakdown's sentiment perfectly.

The jet let out a booming laugh as she swooped over the helms of the Autobots, snapping around mid-air, and then dove straight for the cluster of Autobots. Breakdown charged to his right, keeping track of the Decepticon as she tore only a macrometer over the platform, gun blazing, then transformed out of her alt mode.

When the Decepticon's pedes hit the ground, Arcee charged towards her, leaping onto the tall spires protruding from the platform, then kicking off. Arcee's leap found the two-wheeler latching onto the back of the Decepticon, who roared angrily and began swiping at Arcee. Arcee ducked each swipe, blasted her guns at the large femme's helm, then sprang away, landing near Bulkhead as the green mech barreled into the triple-changer.

The force of Bulkhead crashing into the Decepticon pushed her close to Breakdown, who lunged forwards and smashed his servo into her back. She let out a shriek and slashed out at both Breakdown and Bulkhead with her razor-sharp claws. Neither Breakdown nor Bulkhead were fast enough to dodge the Decepticon's furious attack, her claws leaving deep scars on both of Breakdown's chestplate and Bulkhead's arms.

Breakdown stumbled away from the triple-changer, wincing at the waves of pain rushing through his chassis. He glanced up in time to see the Decepticon pick up Bulkhead and throw him into Breakdown. The duo flew over the edge of the platform, crashing to the hard ground below with a heavy thud.

"Get off!" Breakdown snarled, shoving Bulkhead off him, who fell to the ground with a groan. Ignoring Bulkhead, Breakdown charged back up to the platform, activating his cannon as he was doing so. His pedes skidded across the slick flooring of the platform as he reached the top, stopping at the sight of both Bumblebee and Arcee lying prone on the platform. The Decepticon had Ratchet pressed against one of the pillars, her claws digging into the medic's throat, causing streaks of Energon to run down her claws.

"This is the end of the line for you, Autobot," the Decepticon hissed, raising her cannon servo up to Ratchet's helm, "Good night." The Deceptiocn's cannon began to pulse, with Ratchet thrashing against her hold furiously.

"NO!" Breakdown roared, charging towards the Decepticon without even thinking. Her gaze, and Ratchet's, snapped to Breakdown, and she quickly switched her cannon from Ratchet to Breakdown, but not in time to prevent Breakdown from smashing his shoulder straight into her chestplate.

Time seemed to slow as the Decepticon stumbled back from Breakdown hitting her, her servo unclenching around Ratchet, and switching to Breakdown- And suddenly everything seemed to go faster, the Decepticon's cannon fired, hitting Breakdown sqaure in the chest. Pain blitzed through Breakdown as the force of the blast sent him flying, crashing to the ground near Bumblebee and Arcee.

Breakdown slowly pushed his servos to the ground, raising himself up from where had fallen with an unsteady groan of pain. The metal flooring of the platform quivered as two huge pedes halted in front of Breakdown. Sharp claws drug Breakdown's helm up, his optic snapping onto the cold, emotionless optics of the femme Decepticon. Her mouth turned down into a dark frown, and her red optics narrowed as a low, furious growl rumbled deep from within her chassis.

Fear made Breakdown desperate and with it, he tried to pull away from the Decepticon… but nothing would respond, _nothing_. His enemy's frown slowly changed, from a dark frown to an evil, emotionless smile. She pulled back her cannon servo and activated it, the barrel beginning to pulse with red light-

Suddenly, the Decepticon jerked back, pain flaring in her red optics as a sharp, black blade pierced its way through her collar plate. Energon began to leak from the Decepticon's wound and, with her distracted, Breakdown forced himself to move. Pain followed his every movement as he pressed his servos against the black Decepticon's chassis, which made her turn a desperate optic to Breakdown. Breakdown snarled in response and, with a warning shout to whoever had stabbed the Decepticon, Breakdown fired one of his missiles straight into her helm.

The explosion sent both Breakdown and the Decepticon flying, through Breakdown recovered quicker than she did. As he pulled himself to his pedes, Breakdown noticed Arcee and Bumblebee finally moving, Arcee leaping up with blasters aimed at the downed Decepticon's chassis. Bumblebee moved a little slower, though he did mimic Arcee's tense stance. Breakdown glanced to his left and nodded to Ratchet, which the medic returned stiffly. He had realized fairly quickly that Ratchet had been the one to stab the Decepticon, but Breakdown didn't know how else to give thanks to the medic besides the briefest of acknowledgments.

A moment or two later, Bulkhead finally came up to the platform, his gaze turning suspiciously on the Decepticon. Arcee, with her blasters still pointed to the Decepticon, turned her helm to Breakdown, optics questioning.

"Did you kill her?" Arcee asked Breakdown, who shrugged.

"I don't know," he offered up.

Arcee's vents huffed and she turned back around to the still immobile Decepticon, though she suddenly turned her helm back to Breakdown. "Did you know this Decepticon? I don't recognize her."

"Well, Arcee, you and I are in the same exact ship. I've nev-"

Breakdown's words cut off when, with an explosive roar, the black Decepticon lunged upward, claws ripping into the empty air. Rivulets of Energon was pouring down her helm, which, somehow, was still entirely intact. She lunged again, getting closer this time to Bumblebee and Arcee but the Energon was blinding her movements and easily Bulkhead struck her down with a mace to her helm. The dark Decepticon hit the platform floor with a mighty crash, her claws tightening and loosening as she fell into stasis before the Autobots and Breakdown.

"Good riddance," Bulkhead snapped, kicking the Decepticon with one pede. Arcee and Bumblebee slowly switched their blasters back into normal servos, followed even slower by Breakdown and Ratchet, who both kept a wary gaze on the Decepticon. But she didn't move, and it didn't seem like she would anytime soon, so Ratchet headed back to the Space Bridge controls.

Breakdown paced after the medic, stopping at Ratchet's right as the medic began to flick his digits over the purple screen of the control panel.

"I'm shutting down the scrambler in order to contact base and maintain communications for the remained of the mission," Ratchet explained, pressing a few images on the screen. "Strike Team to Base. Objective secured."

Each mech turned as a GroundBridge opened up a bit in front of the Decepticon Space Bridge, with Jack walking through a few moments later.

"Locking onto Cybertron," Ratchet said, as Jack walked up to Arcee, who placed a servo against her hip plate.

"You ready?"

Jack nodded, lifting up the Key-card as he said, "Let's do this."

Ratchet moved around Breakdown, walking close to Arcee and Jack. "I will leave the Space Bridge portal open, in order to eliminate any communication lag over the great distance. And make it easier to locate when you are ready to return."

"Easier to locate? You're not Bridging us straight to the Big V?" Jack asked Ratchet.

"Vector Sigma true location is shrouded in myth and rumor, Jack. It is said the path of the Primes' leads there. We must be confident that Optimus will guide you."

"Don't worry, Space Bridging is just like Ground Bridging," Arcee said, glancing to the Space Bridge, which activated after a moment, "just a little more intense."

Jack and Arcee did not hesitate, both turning together and walking into the depths of the Ground Bridge.

Ratchet waited for a few bit before he pressed the communications control on the Bridge control, looking towards the Space Bridge as he said, "Arcee, Jack, do you copy?"

" _Roger. We're on Cybertron_ ," came Jack's voice over the comms, which was muffled slightly by static.

"Just keep the sight-seeing to a minimum, huh?" Bulkhead reminded the human.

"Indeed, we don't know if your journey ahead is five klicks or five thousand," Ratchet added, his tone serious.

" _Understood. We're out."_

Arcee's voice faded away to static and with it, Bulkhead turned to the group gathered around the controls with a small vent.

"This could take a while."

Static snapped over the Space Bridge controls, snapping the attention of each mech to it. An annoyed voice came over the comms as they listened.

" _Space Bridge Control, do you read? Space Bridge Control this is Knock Out -_ oh, why did Megatron assign me this job? This is a job for a Vehicon, not a medic! _\- your status report is overdue."_

"Scrap," Bulkhead breathed, before he cleared his throat with a sharp cough.

Ratchet placed a servo before Bulkhead, shaking his helm and snapping, "Bulkhead. No, he'll recognize your voice, and he would recognize mine as well."

Both Ratchet and Bulkhead turned towards Bumblebee and Breakdown, to which Bumblebee trilled nervously, while Breakdown gave them a scornful look.

"Yeah, and Knock Out would _never_ recognize my voice. _Sure_."

" _Come in Space Bridge Control, I don't have the tolerance for Vehicon pranks, and you know it!"_

"Somebody say something, pronto!" Agent Fowler said over the Autobot specific comms.

"Rafael, patch in Agent Fowler!" Ratchet suddenly said, which got no response from the human side of the comms.

" _Control… I'm getting tired of this. You have one nano-cycle to respond or-"_

" _This is Space Bridge Control, situation…_ normal," Fowler interrupted Knock Out's whining, his voice higher than usual.

" _Normal? Really?"_

" _Uh, yes. We were just calibrating the subsystems and we, uh, we uh, had a surge! But it's fine now. How are you?"_

 _Oh great_ , Breakdown thought, smacking a servo to his helm.

" _Hmm? Uh, I'm perfectly fine, well as fine as doing this boring, degrading job makes me. Haven't even buffed today, ugh…"_

Knock Out's voice faded away to the great relief of everyone, especially Breakdown and Fowler, who vented audibly over the comms.

* * *

" _Guys, we're being attacked by some kind of giant bot beetle!_ "

"An Insecticon!" Ratchet exclaimed, snapping Breakdown's attention to the Space Bridge.

_There's still some alive?_

" _A_ what _?"_ Nurse Darby exclaimed over the comms.

" _What are Decepticons doing on Cybertron?"_ Rafael asked.

"A few remain in stasis for centuries, should the enemy return," Ratchet explained, fear deepening his optics.

Breakdown could hear the sound of blaster fire over the comms, then Arcee's voice once again, " _Jack, go!"_

" _Seriously?"_ Jack shrieked over the comms, which was closely followed by a surprised exclamation from Jack's mother.

" _Without Arcee? But she's his guide!"_

"No, Nurse Darby, Arcee is Jack's bodyguard. The _Key-card_ is his guide," Ratchet explained, which was followed by another long string of blaster noise from Arcee's side of the comms.

" _Do it!"_

" _Listen to her, Jack. You've made it this far, Optimus is counting on you."_

" _Roger that, Mom."_

* * *

" _Hey everyone, I'm in."_

"Now what?" Bulkhead asked Ratchet, who gave him a long look. "You don't know, Ratchet?

"How could I? Nothing is noted in the annals of what the process of Vector Sigma is. I can't help Jack, it's up to him, and him alone."

Bumblebee beeped something very softly.

"Yeah, I agree, 'Bee. I hope he can do it too," Bulkhead commented, servos tensing ever so slightly.

"Hopefully," Breakdown snapped, drawing an irritated glare from both Bumblebee and Bulkhead. "I've never really seen humans as the most reliably species out there, so hopefully your humans will prove me wrong."

Bulkhead looked like he was about to retort but Ratchet silenced him with a stern glare.

"We don't have time for this you two, let it go for one day," Ratchet retorted tiredly.

" _Commencing download, I think…"_ Jack's voice echoed over the comms, which snapped the gazes of every mech back to the control screen.

"Soon, Optimus." Ratchet's whisper was almost impossible for Breakdown to hear, though he could see Ratchet's chassis loosen very subtly and his optics glow ever so brighter.

" _This is taking awhile,"_ Jack said over the comms admonished.

"Of course it is! We are talking about the collective wisdom of the Primes," Ratchet replied, a little coldly.

The kid didn't say anything in response to Ratchet. Strangely, there was an odd whirring noise, very quietly seeping from Jack's side of the comms.

_What could that be?_

Just as Breakdown thought this, the whirring noise became much louder, and with it Jack began to make all sorts of odd human noises.

"What is it?" Ratchet practically yelled, his servos clutching onto the baseboard of the Bridge controls.

" _Scraplets!"_ Jack's response caused a shudder to ripple down Breakdown's backstrut. He hated Scraplets very, _very_ passionately. And the Autobots seemed to agree for everyone of them shuddered at the word "Scraplet".

" _What's a Scraplet?"_ Nurse Darby asked.

"Why did it have to be Scraplets?" Bulkhead whined, ignoring the human's question.

"If they chew through Vector Sigma before the Matrix fully reloads-"

Breakdown was the first to hear the sound of a GroundBridge opening inside the chamber and, as his gaze turned, fear choked his words at the familiar, menacing gray mech striding out from the Bridge.

"So, Vector Sigma _is_ more than legend." Megatron's snarl brought the attention of Ratchet, Bumblebee and Bulkhead to himself, the Decepticon leader ticking up one brow ridge. "Yu Autobots have gone to impressive lengths to recover your leader. Be reassured, I shall never underestimate you again."

Megatron approached Breakdown and the Autobots, his optics narrowed to fiery orbs of hatred.

"Now, I assume the one called Arcee will be stepping through that portal with a reloaded Matrix of Leadership in hand," Megatron growled, making Breakdown tense up with a savage growl rolling from his engine. Megatron's gaze turned scornful as he turned his optics to Breakdown.

"I haven't forgotten my promise to you, Breakdown, and today seems the right time to fulfill it. Imagine, getting rid of your one chance to save your precious leader and destroying a traitor and the Autobots all at the same time. _Perfect_."

"It won't be the easy, Megatron," Breakdown snarled, switching both of his servos into hammer alts, moving towards the front of the Space Bridge entrance.

"No, Breakdown, it _will_ be that simple," Megatron scoffed, clawed digits twitching almost imperceptibly with rage.

A flash of orange pulled Breakdown's attention to his side, surprise rising briefly as Ratchet strode up beside him, optics flaming. Bulkhead and Bumblebee moved on either side of Ratchet and Breakdown, when Ratchet swung his servo to the Space Bridge.

"We hold the Space Bridge at all costs!" Ratchet rallied, transforming both of his servos into long, surgical blades. Breakdown wheeled his gaze to Megatron and, with Ratchet and Bulkhead and Bumblebee, charged towards Megatron.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee began firing their blasters at Megatron, who took each blast without even noticing them. Megatron roared and charged forwards, swinging a fist into Bulkhead's stomach plate, sending the green mech hurtling over Breakdown and Ratchet's helms, crashing to a halt in front of the Space Bridge.

Ratchet moved for Megatron first, swinging his blades towards the Decepticon but Megatron snatched the medic's helm, throwing Ratchet off the edge of the platform. Megatron turned as Bumblebee's blasts hit his chest plate, and rushed for the scout, snatching him in one servo and flinging Bumblebee off the platform.

Breakdown tensed and charged for Megatron, smashing away Megatron's servo with one of his own, but Megatron still towered over Breakdown. The immense Decepticon slashed his clawed servos across Breakdown's chestplate, scouring deeper than the femme Decepticon had been able to. Breakdown stumbled away from Megatron, transforming one of his servos back into its original state to press against the leaking wounds tearing down his chestplate.

Red optics met Breakdown's one remaining yellow one, fear snaking its way into his spark as his former leader lunged for him, bladed servo raising-

A loud roar accompanied Ratchet smashing into Megatron's back, bladed servos slashing for a purchase in Megatron's back but the Autobot was not swift enough. Megatron snatched Ratchet with one servo, smashing him to the ground before he let out an enraged shriek and threw Ratchet against one of the platform pillars.

"Ratchet!" Breakdown cried out, rushing to his pedes as the medic crashed to the floor, immobile. Red flooded Breakdown's vision as he turned on Megatron, who was moving swiftly towards him. Breakdown snapped open his servos and charged for Megatron.

Megatron slashed his blade towards Breakdown, but Breakdown was ready this time. He dodged backwards and lunged for Megatron's arm, grasping it in one servo and, with a roar of absolute hatred, threw Megatron away from him. The Decepticon scrambled to his pedes, pistons hissing and spitting his anger, as he charged towards Breakdown.

"You're going down, bucket head!" Bulkhead smashed into Megatron, pushing both him and Megatron off the edge of the platform. The sound of metal hitting metal assured Breakdown that Megatron was occupied. For now.

Breakdown snapped his attention to Ratchet, rushing up to the still unmoving medic. Breakdown checked over Ratchet swiftly, sighing with relief when he felt an obvious sparkbeat. "Ratchet? Come on," Breakdown wrapped his arms around the medic hauling him to his pedes. Ratchet's optics zoomed back into focus, nodding to Breakdown as the duo leapt down to where Bulkhead and Megatron were fighting.

Just as the two mechs landed to the hard earth, both with matching heavy thuds, Bulkhead crashed to the ground near them. Breakdown stormed towards Megatron, barreling into the Decepticon forcefully. Megatron stumbled back slightly, right servo snatching onto Breakdown's helm, then suddenly Breakdown was hit by a firestorm of pain.

He could not get away from Megatron for some reason, even with his servos digging desperately against Megatron's chassis. Pain blitzed hotter and hotter through Breakdown's entire being and, with all of Megatron's weight pushing him down, Breakdown began to sink to the ground.

"No!" Ratchet's bellow hit Breakdown's audials just as the sound of metal crashing into metal, rung throughout the chamber. The pain tearing its way into Breakdown's helm vanished - or at least most of it did - and collapsed to his knees, servos splaying outwards against the ground, unable to move for the fire still racing through his chassis.

Breakdown's mind only distantly registered the sound of Ratchet and Megatron's fight and, as his entire chassis hit the ground, blackness took over.

* * *

The sound of metal clashing against metal pulled Breakdown's mind from its unconscious, with him giving a quick shake of his helm to clear away the rest of the sapping fog. Bulkhead was struggling to his pedes near Breakdown, with Bumblebee already rushing past both Breakdown and Bulkhead. Breakdown turned his gaze to the sound of the fighting, slowly getting to his pedes as something huge crashed into the earthen walls of the chamber.

 _That was Megatron_ , Breakdown realized, the smallest glimmer of hope pushing him after Bulkhead, who was charging up to the platform. Together the two former Wreckers clambered up to the platform, striding up beside Optimus, who was standing before the Space Bridge entrance.

"Ratchet! How did we arrive here?" Optimus asked as each Autobot, and Breakdown, activated their blasters.

"Long story, old friend," Ratchet offered, the dullness that had seeped into his voice gone now with Optimus standing before them.

" _Base to Arcee, we are reading six Autobot life signals down there. Is Prime with you?"_ Fowler's question came over the group's comms.

"-And Jack," Arcee replied back, which was met by an exclamation of joy from Miko.

Breakdown's engine rumbled as Megatron's cannon servo clutched onto the edge of the platform, the Decepticon raising himself up to the platform with a seemingly endless roar. All as one, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Breakdown and Optimus began to fire at Megatron, when a Ground Bridge opened up to the side of the group.

"It's ours!" Arcee called out.

Optimus turned his helm to Breakdown and the others, voice firm as he yelled, "Autobots, fall back!"

Megatron's optics grew wide at Prime's words and he began his charge towards them, not noticing the shots of energy hitting his chassis. Breakdown moved back as Arcee dove down for Jack, snatching him up and leaping through the Ground Bridge; Ratchet followed right after.

"This time, he's coming with us!" Bulkhead growled and, almost as if his words were a signal, Bumblebee, Breakdown and Bulkhead all rushed into the Ground Bridge.

* * *

The Ground Bridge opened up to the Autobot base, and the five humans all staring hopefully out as Arcee and Jack, then Bumblebee, Ratchet, Breakdown and Bulkhead walked into the base. Bumblebee bent down to his human, who wrapped his arms around the scout's pede while Jack and his mother embraced each other. Breakdown moved to Ratchet's side, gaze turning to the Ground Bridge where, with a steadiness in his stride, Optimus Prime walked through the Ground Bridge, the portal closing behind him.

Rafael moved up closer to Optimus, his voice cautiously optimistic. "Optimus?"

"Hello, Rafael," Prime said with a smile.

Miko and Jack moved up to Rafeal, all three of them staring up at Optimus.

"YES! The big guy remembers us!" Miko exclaimed, leaping in the air with a loud whoop.

Optimus' smile turned down as he moved his gaze to his shoulder plate, where a Decepticon insignia was embossed onto his shoulder. "Although it seems there is much I do not remember…"

"Optimus, it has truly been our darkest hour, but know this - from every indication - your spark never ceased being that of an Autobot," Ratchet said as he walked up to Optimus, placing one servo against the Autobot leader's arm.

Optimus looked up at the Autobots, humans and Breakdown, who had all gathered before him, and let the smallest of smiles curve over his faceplate.

"Thank you, Ratchet. All of you."


	14. Chapter 14

"Well, you were lucky Breakdown. Megatron's sword only got a few macrometers into this side," Ratchet tapped the right side of Breakdown's helm gently, "not deep enough to damage anything permanently." Ratchet paused for a moment, seeming to mull over his words before he continued to speak.

"You should be glad he went for the side you already lost an optic, otherwise, you would have lost your other one."

Breakdown said nothing in response, though he instinctively burrowed his feelings deeper into his spark. It was the morning after the Autobots and Breakdown had returned Optimus' memories to him, but Ratchet had only begun checking up on everyone now, due to him - and Breakdown - being too exhausted to begin medical operations on any of the Autobots.

When Ratchet had begun his check ups on the Autobots, Breakdown had hung back, allowing everyone else to go before him. He had told Ratchet it was because he wasn't hurt _that_ bad, but in actuality it was because Breakdown had used to helping others - the Vehicons - before he ever let Knock Out fix him after a battle.

Also, Breakdown had been wanting to ask Ratchet a few questions, mainly about his status with the Autobots. He had never planned to stay with the Autobots for as long as he had so far, as when he had asked for their aid in getting him away from MECH he had only planned to stay with them until he felt safe. So why was he still with them? Was it just because of his strong sense of loyalty to those that helped, or befriended him or something entirely else?

Yet, so far, Breakdown hadn't said, or asked, anything of much to Ratchet except for the occasion noise of agreement or generals _hmms_ or _aahs_. Ratchet, nicely enough, didn't seem bothered by how quiet Breakdown was being throughout his medical check up. Ratchet finished repairing Breakdown's wounds, clicking the welding torch off with a satisfied _huff_.

"Well, you're done, Breakdown," Ratchet informed, giving Breakdown's shoulder plate a gentle pat, "just don't be doing anything extraneous, or you _will_ make all of my efforts moot."

"Will do, Ratchet."

Ratchet rolled his optics and slowly lifted himself up to his pedes, turning his back on Breakdown as the medic began to clean up the medical bay. Breakdown swung his legs over the side of the operating slab, pedes hitting the floor as he stood up. Pistons groaned as Breakdown stretched out the entirety of his chassis, a wide yawn escaping his mouth.

"I second that," Ratchet said softly, turning his optics to Breakdown, who rolled his optic slightly. Breakdown headed to the medical bay door, servo reaching out to pull open the door when Ratchet's voice halted his attempt to leave.

"Breakdown, I wanted to say thank you."

"Hm? For what?" Breakdowns asked, turning back around to Ratchet, who had walked up close to him.

Ratchet vented for a moment, then turned his gaze out, beyond the medical bay to where the rest of the Autobots were.

"I want to thank you for helping us save Optimus, and not just that. You aren't one of us and yet you have helped us out quite a bit. You helped Bulkhead when his mind was overcome with the formula, then you saved my life. And you helped fight Unicron, even though you had no need too. So, for all you've done for us, thanks."

Surprise filled Breakdown's spark and he tilted his helm quizzically at Ratchet. "Uhh-"

" _Ratchet, I need you to come on a mission with me and Bumblebee. There has been an unusual frequency that our scanners have picked up on and I want to see what it is,"_ Prime's call over the comms ended what Breakdown was saying and, with a nod to Ratchet, he quickly left the medical bay.

* * *

Optimus, Ratchet and Bumblebee had returned from their mission relatively unscathed but with a new, strange, device Breakdown had never seen before. He was standing beside Optimus, the both of them in turn watching as Ratchet scanned over the device.

A clear image of the silver-and-blue device had materialized onto the screen of the scanning machine before Ratchet, to which Ratchet pointed out a small part on the bottom. The image zoomed up to show what looked like the insignia of the Autobots burnished onto the end of the device.

"Here. The source of the ancient frequency we detected."

"An Iacon homing beacon," Prime said, noticing the confused look Breakdown was giving him.

"What is an Autobot locator doing on that?" Arcee's question punctuated the air as she, Bumblebee and Bulkhead approached the three mechs already gathered around the device.

"The Class A Decepticons Weapon confiscated during the war, were sealed below the vaults in Iacon," Optimus explained, gaze turning to the three.

"Where you once worked as an archivist?" Bulkhead asked.

Optimus nodded slightly, then turned his entire chassis towards Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee. "Iacon was both a cultural center and a strong hold, which Megatron raiding when Autobot troops were at their nadir. It stands to reason that in anticipation of Iacon being overrun by enemy forces, these weapons were jettisoned off world to keep them far from Decepticon reach."

"Clearly, the beacon was added as a safety measure, should the weapons ever be found by the undesired party," Ratchet said.

"Haha, thanks to our hotshot stunt driver," Bulkhead smacked Bumblebee's back. Breakdown rolled his optic, _more like Megatron was to shocked to catch Bumblebee in time to keep the device himself_ , "this one is going in our vault

"Optimus… Do you think this is the only intel you provided to Megatron?" Arcee questioned, her tone breaking Bulkhead's cheery smile.

"Arcee," Optimus began, his optics tracking away from the Autobots, "you are right to ask. And, I am afraid, I do not remember."

"Optimus," Ratchet urged, "Megatron clearly took advantage of your amnesia. But for all we know this spark extractor is the extent of it. Have you stopped to consider that he might have suggested otherwise merely to plague our thoughts?"

"Uh, Ratchet," Breakdown interest, drawing the scorching looks of each Autobot in base to him, "I know Megatron, I guess you could say well, but I do not believe that this time he is just saying things to get under Optimus' chassis."

Ratchet narrowed his optics towards Breakdown, uncertainty flaring through his optics. "Do you mean that Optimus may truly have given more information to Megatron and the Decepticons?"

Breakdown shrugged his shoulderplates, then nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

* * *

" _Hey, Ratchet, something is wrong with Bumblebee, he's saying he can't transform. Could you open up a Ground Bridge for us please? Here's the coordinates,"_ Bulkhead's worried voice pulled both Ratchet and Breakdown's examination of the Spark Extractor, each giving each other an odd look before Ratchet rushed up to the Ground Bridge controls. Breakdown followed after Ratchet, glancing towards the large HUDs screens as Ratchet downloaded Bulkhead's coordinates into the Bridge controls and activated the Bridge.

A few moments after the Bridge had fully activated Bulkhead came rushing in, with Bumblebee following behind him nervously, his door wings sagging depressive. Ratchet rushed up to Bumblebee, quickly checking over the scout's chassis before indicating one of the medical slabs.

"Lay down there," Ratchet ordered, which Bumblebee followed soundlessly. As the scout began to settle onto the slab Breakdown turned to Bulkhead, who was standing next to him.

"What happened to Bumblebee?"

Bulkhead turned his gaze to Breakdown at his question, "I don't know. We detected an energy signal while out on patrol and we agreed to rendezvous there. Bumblebee was there before me and, when I got there he was laying on the ground. I asked him what happened, but he didn't know, so I suggested that we found out who did it. I transformed and started to drive off but Bumblebee didn't follow after me. When I realized that, I came back and he said he couldn't transform."

Bulkhead moved away from Breakdown after his explanation, the former Wrecker shuffling up to where Bumblebee, Optimus and Ratchet were. But Breakdown stayed where he was. Something felt oddly familiar about what Bulkhead had said-

"You can fix 'Bee, can't you?" The sound of Rafael's voice shifted Breakdown's attention away from his thoughts and back to the present. He walked up to Optimus, glancing down at Bumblebee as Ratchet finished scanning the scout's chassis.

Ratchet deactivated his scanner and pointed to one of the screens behind him, "Bumblebee was hit pretty hard. The stun blast may have fried his T-cog."

"Wait-"

"T-cog? Is that like a T-bone?" Miko asked, her words snapping through Breakdown's curiously.

"Not exactly. It's the organ that allows us to scan and transform into vehicles," Arcee explained.

Breakdown turned his gaze back to the screens, speedily processing every single strip of data flowing over them before turning to Ratchet, who hadn't finished rescanning Bumblebee.

"Ratchet, did you say Bumblebee was hit by a stun blast?" Breakdown asked, which made Ratchet look up at him, scanner deactivating.

"Yes. Why?" Ratchet asked, though his attention shifted back to Bumblebee as he began his scan again.

"Because I don't know of any Decepticon who has the ability to use stun blasts. But I do know who does use-"

"By the Allspark… Bumblebee's T-cog isn't damaged, it's MISSING!" Ratchet whipped his gaze to Optimus, his interruption causing a wave of dread and fear Breakdown hadn't felt in weeks, crash over his spark.

_Only one group would ever take a Cybertronian's T-cog away, and it's_ not _Megatron and his Decepticons. No… I thought I'd escaped them..._

"But the Decepticons transform too, why would they steal that?" Jack asked, though his voice was very distant to Breakdown.

"Megatron may be know to raise zombies, but he's no ghoul," Ratchet growled.

"Then if Megatron wasn't behind this. Who-"

"It was MECH," the snarl escaped Breakdown before he could even think, not even noticing the fact that he had interrupted Rafael's question. "Only they would do something like _this_." Breakdown pointed to Bumblebee, who had began to shake noticeably at the thunder in Breakdown's voice. Bulkhead and Arcee shot each other a nervous glance, while Prime glanced towards Breakdown with an unreadable expression.

"And it seems that their knowledge of Cybertronian biotech has grown more sophisticated," Ratchet said coldly.

"But what would they want with Bumblebee's part?" Rafael questioned, which made Breakdown's scorching glare turn on the naive human.

Breakdown snorted derisively, which drew the attention of everyone gathered in the base.

"Isn't it obvious? MECH wants their own army of transforming robots, I remember their leader saying that while they _dissected_ me before my own optic. They have no thoughts of us Cybertronians as living beings, only _machines_ ," Breakdown snapped the word _machine_ , rage building inside him like an endless fire. His gaze snapped to Optimus before he began speaking again.

"And I'm guessing they really don't mind taking from the Autobots, considering you messed with their _experiment_ last time."

"Breakdown-" Ratchet cautioned, concern sparking in his optics. Breakdown ignored him, turning his gaze away and shutting his mouth without another word.

Bumblebee began to move, raising himself up from te medical slab with a flurry of beeps and whirs.

"Bumblebee please, you are not presently equipped to handle this," Optimus stopped the scout, which made Bumblebee trill angrily at his leader. "You are mistaken my friend, I do know what it's like to lose a vital part of oneself and, as a result, I know the value of putting one's faith in the strength of those around you. We vow to do everything in our power to you whole again."

_At least you can be whole again, Bumblebee_ , Breakdown thought nastily, hatred for MECH, even for Bumblebee beginning to make red his vision.

"And if not, Ratchet can just make you a new cog thing, right?" Miko asked, which made every optic turn on her. Bumblebee stared at her for a moment then let out a strained trill before collapsing back onto the medical slab with both servos clutching onto his helm.

"What'd I say?"

"Miko! A T-cog is a biomechanism, not a scrapyard find. If it were that easy don't you think I would have replaced Bumblebee's voice box by now?" Ratchet grumbled, which Bumblebee followed up with a frustrated and overdrawn beep.

"You're not useless, 'Bee," Rafael interjected, but Bumblebee didn't seem to take the humans advice for much for he only hugged his legs closer to his chestplate and let his optics grow distant.

"Alright, alright, I say none of us transform until Bumblebee gets his cog back," Bulkhead suggested, which made Arcee shot him a small glare.

"Your spark is in the right place Bulkhead, but I don't think now is the time to be limiting ourself."

"Not with Megatron potentially seeking other doomsday devices. And, I fear, not while MECH uses Bumblebee's T-cog for their own sinister purpose," Optimus said, his gaze turning to Breakdown and Bumblebee for the briefest of moments.

Breakdown glared at Optimus and, without thinking, transformed into his alt mode and roared out of the Autobot base.

* * *

Rain streaked down Breakdown's faceplate, the cool liquid slowly melting away some of the rage that was eating into his spark, but not enough. Not enough to quell the memories of helplessness and torture that rose with his insatiable rage.

That was why he had run from the Autobots. As they had all been talking with Bumblebee, Breakdown couldn't stop the need to hunt down MECH. But he hadn't planned much further than that, or _how_ he could find MECH, so he had stopped finally in a large canyon near the Autobot base.

He had ignored every call from the Autobots to come back to their base since he had bolted from it, where he was now resting in the old canyon. He couldn't go back. He just _couldn't_. _I can't let them see me, not like this._ A shaking vent escaped from Breakdown, accompanied by a terrible, rattling that took over his entire chassis.

He had not thought of MECH for quite a while, even if what it had done still lingered on his mind distantly, as he had become occupied so heavily with Autobot dealings. But now that MECH was back, and back to their villainous, torturous ways, Breakdown couldn't do anything _but_ think of MECH.

And with his thoughts set so strongly on MECH he couldn't hide what he was really feeling. _Fear_. He feared what MECH would do this time, as he knew they would never stop at just a T-cog.

" _Hey Breakdown, you should return to base. I do not like the idea of you being out there where MECH could find you. I understand you're feeling Breakdown-"_ Ratchet's comms broke through Breakdown's thoughts.

"Do you _really_ understand what I am feeling right now, Ratchet? _Do you_? No, you do not, so don't-"

" _Breakdown. Stop. I didn't mean it like that-"_

"Yeah, whatever Ratchet," Breakdown snarled, engine thrumming lowly as the rain continued to fall from the sky.

" _Breakdown… Don't do anything foolish, we do need you."_

Breakdown said nothing, though he paced in circles as his thoughts slowly began to meter to a rational point.

" _I'll open up a Bridge for you, Breakdown."_

Breakdown shook his helm and let out a dragging vent, "Fine. Whatever… Uh, thanks."

" _No problem."_

Ratchet's comms turned to static and soon a GroundBridge opened up a few macrometers from Breakdown, who walked through the Bridge, glancing once more at the storming sky.

Lightning cracked over the sky, thunder rumbling in quick succession. Wind roared over the canyon, which produced an eerie, audial-splitting shriek. Breakdown turned his helm away and, with a storm raging inside him much like that happening behind him, Breakdown walked through the Ground Bridge.

* * *

The chime of the Ground Bridge deactivating snapped Breakdown's attention away from the datapad he was scanning and over to where the Ground Bridge was just deactivating. His optic snapped around the base, frown tightening down his faceplate.

_Where are Bumblebee and Bulkhead?_ Breakdown wondered as Bulkhead had been stationed to watch Bumblebee while Arcee, Optimus and Ratchet had gone off to search for any sign of Decepticon activity nearby.

Not seeing either of the two mechs, Breakdown moved up to the main HUDs control, summoning up the coordiantes from the latest Ground Bridge. The data showed Breakdown that two Autobots, clearly Bumblebee and Bulkhead, had gone through the portal and landed somewhere quite a ways from the base.

Breakdown rolled his optic and switched his comms to Ratchet's.

"Ratchet, Bulkhead and Bumblebee just left base-"

" _WHAT?"_

"Yeah, looks like," Breakdown paused to bring up what Bulkhead and Bumblebee may have gone after on the HUDs, surprise biting into his spark, "they went after another one of those ancient devices, like the spark extractor."

Ratchet groaned audibly over the comms then, before Ratchet could speak, Optimus ordered Breakdown to open up a Ground Bridge for them back to base. Breakdown obliged and, as the Ground Bridge opened up, a new blur of static cut through the comms before Bulkhead's worried voice echoed from the HUDs.

" _Uh, hey, Breakdown, could you get a Ground Bridge to my location, like now?"_

"What did you do Bulkhead?" Breakdown snarled, not even turning his attention to Optimus, Ratchet and Arcee as the three rushed through the Ground Bridge.

" _I didn't do anything! But… uh, Bumblebee is hurt-"_

Breakdown was about to interrupt Bulkhead when he was pushed aside from Ratchet, who took over the comms with an angered scream. "BULKHEAD! What were you thinking? What did I tell you about letting Bumblebee out? For Primus' sake, you idiot."

" _I'm sorry Ratch', honestly!"_

Ratchet's engine hummed dangerously as he shut off the communications link with Bulkhead. The medic turned his gaze on Arcee and Optimus, who looked disbelieving and disappointed, respectively.

"We will bring Bumblebee and Bulkhead back. Do not worry yourself, old friend," Optimus said before turning and, with Arcee beside him, rushed through the Ground Bridge Ratchet had just opened up.

The Ground Bridge stayed open, and Ratchet turned a scorching, though very worried, glare on Breakdown.

"Why didn't you stop them?"

Breakdown stepped back from the medic, an indignant growl rising from his engine. "It isn't like they asked if I wanted to come with them, Ratchet. I was busy with something when I heard the Ground Bridge deactivate. I couldn't have done anything to stop them anyways."

Ratchet vented and lowered his gaze, giving his helm a small shake. "I apologize, Breakdown. I am just worried about Bumblebee, he's not acting like himself since… MECH stole his T-cog."

"It's fine," Breakdown said, placing a servo on the medic's shoulder plates comfortingly. Ratchet turned his gaze back to Breakdown, saying nothing until the faintest of smiles cracked over his faceplate.

Breakdown returned the smile, then both turned as the sound of the Ground Bridge activating chimed through the base. Ratchet moved closer to the Ground Bridge, arms crossing over his chestplate. Breakdown walked over to the medical bay, optic watching as Optimus and Arcee and Bulkhead walked in, with Bulkhead carrying Bumblebee. Rolling his optic, Breakdown quickly prepped the medical area, finding a distant comfort in performing the same tasks he had done for ages for the Decepticons.

After a bit, Bulkhead walked Bumblebee over to the medical slab, lowering the scout to the slab until the yellow mech was laying out on his back. Ratchet activated his scanner and began to scan Bumblebee's chassis, to the nervous glances of the rest of the Autobots, while Breakdown was standing at the ready to help Ratchet if needed.

Ratchet finished scanning Bumblebee, then turned on Bulkhead, who flinched back noticeably.

"Of all the scrap-brained ideas, taking Bumblebee into a potential chase scenario when he no longer has the ability to access his wheels?"

"He improvised," Bulkhead offered lamely, which only got him a scathing look from Ratchet.

"Hey, Bumblebee is waking up!" Rafael exclaimed, drawing the attention of the others to him. Bumblebeee slowly righted himself up from the slab, servo pressing against his helm as his optics sparked a few times until staying fully active.

"You've already lost your voice-box and your T-cog, were you really trying to add your spark to the list?" Ratchet growled, approaching Bumblebee with his servos raised indignantly. Bumblebee looked away from Ratchet and let out a long, singular whirl.

"Don't say that Bumblebee, you're not useless!" Rafael's voice was growing desperate and his optics were dull with worry, which made Breakdown tilt his helm quizzically. Even though Breakdown had been with the Autobots, and thus their humans, for awhile he had still not fully grown used to the fact that the humans actually seemed to care about the mechs.

_Or at least that is what they want the Autobots to believe,_ a dark voice said in the back of Breakdown's processor, though he shoved it away with a quiet growl.

"I hate to break up the pity party but the 'Cons just added unknown Iacon Payday Number 2 to their armory," Arcee interjected, her tone snappy. Breakdown turned his gaze towards her, watching as Optimus moved up behind Arcee and Bulkhead.

"Neither praise nor blame would modify past events, but we cannot afford to take further unnecessary risks. Bumblebee, you are not to leave our base, not until we can retrieve your missing biomechanism."

Breakdown choked back his snort of disbelief at Optimus' words. _No one is getting_ anything _back from MECH. Prime would be a fool to believe_ that _line of nonsense._

Optimus seemed to hesitate for a few moments, then turned about, heading away from the rest of the Autobots. Ratchet moved after Optimus but stopped, an unreadable expression flashing through his optics before he headed after Optimus. Breakdown followed after the two distantly, listening as Ratchet caught up to Optimus.

"Bumblebee is right to be less than hopeful, but you and I both know that there exists a way to make him whole again."

_What does he mean?_ Breakdown wondered, unable to stop himself from moving closer to the two Autobots.

"A transplant," Optimus answered, tone unreadable. "But that would require a donor." Optimus didn't even look back at Ratchet as he once again began to walk away.

"Then you need look no further than the Autobot standing before you."

Breakdown snapped his gaze to Ratchet, mouth falling open in disbelief at Ratchet's offer just as Optimus skidded to a halt and whipped back around to Ratchet.

" _What_?" Breakdown gasped, his yellow optic snapping to Ratchet then Optimus, who shook his helm slowly.

"A generous offer, old friend, but your solution would merely trade one Autobot's handicap for another's," Optimus said.

"But I don't rely on my T-cog, not like Bumblebee does. The ability to transform is virtually wasted on me. This," Ratchet pointed his left servo down at the base flooring, "is where I spend my days. Where my thoughts and hands are at value. Not my weapons or wheels." Ratchet turned away from Optimus, his optics sparking with sorrow as his gaze landed on Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead. "Our team can't afford to be shy even one warrior in the field."

"You make a compelling case, but know that we will find Bumblebee's T-cog."

"Optimus, MECH are savages. Who knows what damage they may have already inflicted upon it, or… or if I will be able to repair it." Ratchet's helm fell from Optimus' calm gaze as he pulled his arms together tightly. Breakdown started to move up to Ratchet but stopped when Optimus gave him a small look.

"Ratchet," Optimus began, which snapped Ratchet's helm up, "you did everything in your power-"

Ratchet looked stunned by Optimus' words, though he cut off the Autobot with a sharp snort. "Please, do you really think this is about my inability to restore Bumblebee's voice box?" Ratchet's voice trailed away like fog as his optics fell, an eerie distance turning his blue optics to ice.

"Ah… I just want to do what's right. For our scout, for the team."

* * *

"Obviously, since I am the other patient involved, I will be unable to perform the surgery. Therefore," Ratchet walked past Arcee and Bulkhead, who were lined up before the medic, "one of you must serve as my proxy."

"But what about Breakdown? He's got experience with medical _things_ ," Arcee said, her voice tight, "make him do it."

"No, I have already discussed this with him and we both agreed on him not doing it. And don't ask why, Arcee," Ratchet snapped, then wheeled around, stopping at Bulkhead without looking at him. "Better at breaking things," he assessed, which made Bulkhead let out a relieved vent. Ratchet stopped at Arcee, still not looking at her as he said, "Arcee."

"Optimus has steadier hands," Arcee's tone was almost begging, though she still kept her gaze locked straight forwards.

"Steady, and much too large to be rooting around beneath _my_ hood." Ratchet turned to the medical screens as Arcee dejectedly walked away from Ratchet, her wing kibble sagging over her backstrut.

"Arcee, you can do this. You're steely as they come," Jack attempted to comfort Arcee, which made Breakdown hide the smile cracking over his faceplate.

_Not this this kind of work_ , he thought.

"On the battlefield. _Not_ in an operating theater," Arcee said back to Jack, who let a small frown curve his mouth downwards.

"Same thing, so long as you're behind the knife, not under it." Arcee vented at Jack's words, unable to say anything for Miko interrupting her with a muted groan.

"Does this mean Bumblebee's going to transform into an ambulance from now on or be all cranky? 'Cause that would be weird."

Breakdown smacked a servo to his helm, turning to shoot Miko an annoyed look.

"That isn't how a T-cog works, Miko. And anyways, T-cogs aren't some kind of… _personality_ chip or something that influences our emotions. Its only purpose is for transformation," Breakdown said snidely, which received a frustrated look from Miko, though Breakdown shrugged it off.

As Breakdown turned his optic back to Arcee, he couldn't stop the groan that escaped from his engine. The femme was still standing near him, her expression lost, worried, fearful, even disgusted, and so far she hadn't done anything useful. Breakdown moved up to her and, not gently, grasped her shoulder plate and began pushing her towards Ratchet and Bumblebee.

"I'll help you Arcee, but this is something you can only do," Breakdown explained, releasing his hold on Arcee to begin connecting stasis tubes to both Ratchet and Bumblebee, both of whom were now laying on medical slabs.

Arcee came over to Breakdown, holding out a special medical scanner to him, which he took, logged a few things into it and gave it back to her. She nodded at him as she took the scanner from him, her gaze turning to flash over both Ratchet and Bumblebee's chassis's.

"What now?" She whispered, gaze beginning to turn frantic as she snapped her optics to Breakdown.

Breakdown vented, placing a steadying servo on Arcee. "Calm down Arcee. You can't do any kind of operation if you aren't mentally here for it."

Arcee gritted her denta, shuttering her optics for the briefest of moments before she gave the stiffest of nods to Breakdown. "Fine," she said, double-checking the stasis tubes Breakdown had placed on each Autobot before walking up to the medical screen.

She glanced towards Breakdown, who raised an optic ridge at her, then turned to the screen. "Inducing Ratchet's stasis." She pressed a button on the screen before her, and soon a quiet hissing began to steam from the stasis tubes connected to Ratchet. Bumblebee glanced up just as the stasis began to affect Ratchet, letting out the swiftest of trills.

"Yes, yes, you can thank me when it's over…" Ratchet's words drug on until finally the old medic's optics shuttered close.

Arcee turned her helm to Bumblebee, who was beginning to look nervous and said, "Okay Bumblebee, your turn."

A low beeping suddenly began to ring through the base, Breakdown snapping his attention straight to the main HUDs, though Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and the humans all snapped their gaze around the base swiftly.

"What's happening?"

"Ratchet's flatlining!" Miko shrieked, though Arcee silenced her with a, "No he isn't!"

"It's an Iacon homing beacon," Optimus explained, his calming voice making Rafael and Miko breath out with relief.

"If we are picking up the signal, it means the 'Cons just unearthed another relic," Bulkhead surmised, his optics locked onto Optimus, who turned towards the group of mechs gathered in the base.

"Autobots, prepare to roll out!"

"Yes!" Arcee exclaimed, more to herself than anyone else in the base. Bumblebee immediately leapt from where he had been laying, punching and swinging his servos midair, until Optimus smashed his pede to the ground in front of Bumblebee.

"Except for our patients." Bumblebee fell back to his medical slab at Optimus' words, letting out a pitiful trill. "It would be best to interrupt stasis," Optimus told Arcee, to which she willingly obliged. The hiss of Ratchet's stasis tube shutting down echoed through the base, and Optimus turned to Breakdown.

"I need you to stay. You have the most medical knowledge of all of us here, aside from Ratchet, and is something should happen I need you here. And I need you to watch Bumblebee. Could you do this for me, Breakdown?"

"Sure," Breakdown acknowledged. Optimus' gaze did not leave Breakdown for a few moments, then he gave him a deep nod.

"Let's go Autobots!" Optimus bellowed, leading Arcee and Bulkhead into the Ground Bridge. As they disappeared into the Bridge, Breakdown turned back to Bumblebee, who was watching him nervously, and began waiting.

* * *

" _Prime! Breaking news!_ " Fowler connecting through the comms turned Breakdown's attention away from Bumblebee, who shot up from where he was sitting, and Ratchet. Breakdown headed over to the main HUDs, Bumblebee skidding after him, stopping at the controls.

"What?" Breakdown growled, while Bumblebee let out the fastest beeps and trills Breakdown had heard from him yet. Fowler looked horrified for a moment before he turned his full attention to Breakdown.

"Where is Prime?"

"On a mission," Breakdown said cooly, which made Fowler grumple something unintelligible.

"Ok, then. Let him know that I just received access to satellite imagery, which I believe pinpoints the center of operations of MECH."

Breakdown startled back, terror snatching full force onto his spark. Bumblebee, who was beside him, let out a stunned trill, the whir of his optics sounding unusually loud.

Rage began to burn through Breakdown's chassis and he turned a furious look towards Fowler. "Tell me where MECH is. _Now_."

Fowler looked stunned by Breakdown's tone, which was unusually quiet, but ringing with a hollow evil.

"Send the coordinates Fowler," Jack piped up, "We will make sure that Optimus gets them as soon as possible."

Fowler nodded. A few moments later the HUDs began to display the coordinates. Breakdown walked up to the Ground Bridge controls, furiously putting in the coordinates. Before he could activate the Ground Bridge though the humans all came running down to the platform closest to the Bridge control.

"Are you nuts?" Jack yelled, "You are seriously going to face off against MECH alone? Are you actually _trying_ to die?"

Breakdown whipped his gaze on Jack, lowering his helm till he was optic to optic with the fleshling. "I'm going to do what I want, and I am not going to listen to some foolish human who believes he knows so much because Optimus Prime believed in him once. You _know_ nothing of _anything_ , human, and you never will."

Jack flinched openly, ducking his helm away from Breakdown as Rafael walked up to the very edge of the platform.

"Please don't do this, Breakdown," Rafael pleaded, though Breakdown ignored him.

"Please come back alive, Breakdown," Miko's voice, unusually quiet and somber, brought Breakdown's gaze back to the three humans. Each one of them all looked concerned, with Miko almost looking terrified, while Rafael kept glancing towards Bumblebee, who was pacing back and forth ceaselessly.

Breakdown turned away from the humans, smashing the Ground Bridge control levers down, locking his gaze onto Bumblebee.

"You."

Bumblebee whipped his gaze on Breakdown, fury and anticipation alive in his optics.

"You want to come?" Bumblebee nodded furiously to Breakdown's question, which made him smile unnaturally.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

The Ground Bridge opened up to a dark, soundless forest. Bumblebee, who had seemed so fierce and willing to hunt MECH down, was now moving behind Breakdown nervously. Breakdown paid no mind to Bumblebee, stopping at the edge of the hill the Ground Bridge had opened up to. Below them lay an abandoned hangar and, if not for the faintest of light seeping from under the door of the hangar, one would think it abandoned.

Bumblebee halted beside Breakdown, an unhappy rumble escaping his engine as his gaze fell upon the hangar below them. The scout turned his gaze to Breakdown, but Breakdown did not notice. His every fiber was taut with tension, but his optics were distant, too distant.

_Lightning ripped through his chassis, burning circuits and wires with a vengeful, white-hot fire. The smell of smoke hit his receptors - he was actually_ burning _\- before a swamp of darkness stole his conscious from him._

_He next awoke in a place he did not know. Drills hung at the edge of his vision -_ odd, he could see from his right optic _\- and a strange, undefinable noise was echoing in his audials. He turned his gaze around him, stopping at the sight of a scarred human staring down at him._

_Its optics did not look alive, except for the hunger that them glow even in the darkness of the strange room. Its mouth opened, but no sound came from it even as it began to move closer to him. As it stepped down the small stairs to his left, the oddest feeling came over him._

_He felt like he had to get away from this human, its dead optics, crooked grin, and run forever. But he could not move. Something was holding him down. He searched for it, but nothing showed, except for more dead, hungry optics, slowly rising from the murky depths of shadows._

_Something drew his gaze back to the scarred human, and kept it there. The human smiled, and a wave of dread smashed over him._

_Danger. Danger. DANGER. His processor screamed for him to move, but nothing responded._

_And then he felt something on him. His gaze snapped up. There. Another one of the dead opticed humans was standing on his chestplate. One flick of its servo and a drill immediately moved next to the human. The human rans a servo along the metal of the drill, emotionless optics still watching him._

_One of its digits flicked and the drill positioned again, this time hovering right above his right optic. His gaze snapped to the scarred human, whose mouth opened, showing a row of fangs that dripped with an oozy blackness, and then it spoke._

" _Welcome."_

_And then the drill plunged into his optic. But he felt no pain. He. Felt. Nothing. No sound, no pain, nothing, except for the gradual darkening of his vision, and then nothing._

_It_

_All_

_Was_

_NOTHING_

Loud beeping snapped Breakdown from the strange memory - no, not really a memory, but an elaborate imagining from deep within his processor. Slowly, he turned his gaze down.

Why was there an Autobot standing next to him?

What was happening?

WHERE WAS HE?

But the beeping continued, and it wouldn't stop, until Breakdown said, with a distant voice, "What?" He could barely hear his own voice, every part of him was so dregged in oozing darkness.

The yellow Autobot began beeping again in Basic, but an Autobot version of Basic, not the Basic of the Decepticons - or at least the low-ranked Decepticons, like Breakdown. Others, like Megatron could understand both versions of Basic. But that didn't explain why he was with an Autobot. His enemy, his _sworn_ enemy.

The little Autobot suddenly grabbed onto his servo, but Breakdown _didn't pull away from the Autobot._ Nothing in him screamed to destroy the nuisance, and that _confused him so much._

He turned once more to the Autobot, engine letting out a faint warning to the yellow mech. The mech jumped back, pedes skidding against wet moss as he thumped into a tree. Breakdown turned away from the mech, his gaze shifting over the land and passing over a hangar that was bordered by a green helicopter and cars-

He recognized that helicopter, and the green cars.

He knew where he was.

And what he was doing.

He. Was. Hunting.

Without thinking, without a glance towards the Autobot still shivering against the tree, Breakdown charged. His pedes smashed over the ground like cracks of thunder. He skidded on the pavement that led to the hangar and when he did, his optic caught the little Autobot scout running just a ways after him. It was odd, but Breakdown ignored it.

He was nearing the hangar's huge door and, with a thundering roar, drove his entire self into the door. The door fell beneath his weight, flying against the wall opposite of the hangar with a mighty crash, spraying bits of metal everywhere, even hitting some of the humans inside the hangar.

Slowly, Breakdown lowered his gaze until he was glaring into those dead, hungry, human optics.

"MECH."

* * *

Bumblebee was breathing heavily as he skidded to a halt beside Breakdown, who was glowering down at a human standing in front of them both. It only took a second or two for Bumblebee to recognize the leader of MECH, Silas. His engine began to rumble ominously at the sight of those MECH soldiers who had not been killed by Breakdown charging into the base walking towards him and Breakdown, all armed with guns.

"HAHAHA! Really? What is this, Breakdown?" A sudden high voice called out, snapping Bumblebee's attention to the sight of Starscream landing at the far corner of the hangar, near a strange machine that looked oddly like a Cybertronian.

Bumblebee growled lowly at Starscream, who wasn't really paying attention to him but to Breakdown, who was still staring down at Silas.

_.: One could ask the same of you Starscream. What are you doing here? And why are you working with MECH? :._

Bumblebee's question drew Starscream's attention, though the Decepticon's smile only grew wider at it.

"I work with who I can benefit from, that's all."

_.: But why MECH? I highly doubt they aren't planning something sinister for you personally, Starscream :._

Starscream shrugged, then slowly moved one of his servos, which had been behind his back the whole time. "Do you mean somthing like _this_?" Starscream snapped open his servo and, to Bumblebee's horror, in the Decepticon's servo was _his_ T-cog.

_.: Give that to me! :._ Bumblebee roared, diving for Starscream. The minute Bumblebee moved though, the odd stalemate that had ensued since Breakdown had busted down the hangar's door was broken and every single MECH soldier began to fire at him and Breakdown. Bumblebee could hear Breakdown roaring in the background, the former Decepticon's rage making the floor rumble.

But Bumblebee had more important things to care about. Starscream was still holding out his T-cog, but the Decepticon was hopping back further and further from Bumblebee, and all the while Bee was getting hit by shots from the MECH soldiers.

But none of that mattered. Not so long as _Starscream_ had his T-cog. Bumblebee rushed at Starscream, smashing into the Decepticon, which sent his T-cog flying.

_No!_ Bumblebee threw Starscream away from him and dove for his T-cog. He snatched the edge of his T-cog only for Starscream's clawed servo to grasp at it at the same time.

_.: Let it go Starscream! :._ Bumblebee snarled, smashing his fisted servo into Starscream's helm. Starscream stumbled back, though the Decepticon quickly lunged back at Bumblebee. Bumblebee ducked away from Starscream's claws, still cradling his T-cog to his chestplate as he punched at Starscream again.

But Starscream was expecting it this time for he leaped away and activated both of his blasters, pointing them straight at Bumblebee.

"Perish, Bumblebee!" Starscream snarled and fired. Bumblebee tried to dodge the blasts but the first one hit him in the shoulder plate, making him stumble back and drop his T-cog, while the other one only grazed against his helm. A second of confusion - _where is my T-cog?!_ \- halted Bumblebee's actions but Starscream's engine growling above him turned his gaze up.

The Decepticon was standing on the Cybertronian-like machine, with Bumblebee's T-cog in one servo and the other in its blaster mode, aimed right at Bumblebee's T-cog.

_.: No, don't! :._ Bumblebee begged, but it did nothing. Starscream's blood red optics flared joyfully, almost teasingly as his blaster began to thrum to life.

"Say goodbye to your precious T-cog, Bumblebee-"

"Starscream!" The harried voice of Silas snapped Starscream, and Bumblebee's, attention to the MECH leader standing below them. "We are retreating! Make sure you bring me your T-cog!" Once Silas was done with his orders he bolted away from the two mechs, avoiding the still raging Breakdown, who was firing at any MECH soldier that foolishly got in his sight.

"I'm not one of your footsoldiers! I am your _consultant_!" Starscream roared after Silas, wings flaring out angrily. Seeing Starscream distracted, Bumblebee lunged. Starscream's optics snapped to Bumblebee, but not fast enough to avoid getting smashed to the ground by the scout.

Bumblebee lunged for his T-cog, but Starscream ducked away, claws digging into Bumblebee's chassis remorselessly. The two scrambled at each other desperately, neither gaining an edge, until Starscream's claws hooked under Bumblebee's chin and, with a heave, he threw Bumblebee to the ground.

Bumblebee scrambled up and leapt. He smashed into Starscream, who fell back and released the T-cog. Time seemed to slow as Bumblebee dove for his T-cog, Starscream fired his T-cog, Bumblebee's servo brushed his T-cog, then it was sent flying by a devastating blast. The biomechanism thudded to the ground at the same time as Bumblebee did, the scout desperately reaching out to his T-cog.

He grasped the device and pulled it to his chestplate, optics widening at the metal, blackened and frayed by Starscream's blast. _No…_

Bumblebee whirled his gaze onto Starscream, who was now standing upon the machine once again.

"Time to jet, because I _can_!" Starscream snarled, leaping from the machine and transforming mid-air with a blast of his engine. Silence greeted Bumblebee as the sound of Starscream's jet mode zooming away faded to a dull roar. No MECH soldiers were left in the hangar as all of them, at least that had lived, had fled with Silas. But-

Bumblebee snapped his gaze around the hangar, desperately searching for Breakdown-

"Get up Autobot and stop sniveling around," Breakdown's voice came from right behind Bumblebee, which made the young mech fly up to his pedes in a jolt of terror. He wheeled around to Breakdown, who had his shoulder cannon pointed right at him, and backed away from the blue ex-Decepticon.

_.: Uh, Breakdown we're on the same side. Don't shoot me, please? :._ Breakdown frowned at Bumblebee, and deactivated his shoulder cannon.

"I have no idea what you just said, Autobot-"

The sudden chime of a Ground bridge opening outside the hangar pulled both Bumblebee and Breakdown's attention to the shattered door where, with matching looks of disbelief, Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead were all standing.

"What in the name of Primus happened here?" Arcee snapped, rushing up to Bumblebee, who suddenly remembered his destroyed T-cog and slowly picked said biomech up. Arcee's optics widened at the thing that used to be a T-cog, her servo gently laying against Bumblebee's shoulder plate.

"Hey, Ratchet will fix that up in no time," she said as she gently began to tug him towards Optimus and Bulkhead. Bumblebee cast a misery-filled gaze towards Breakdown, who was watching them curiously.

_.: Arcee… Something is off with Breakdown. He's acting really weird, like he doesn't even remember he's one of us… :._ Bumblebee trailed off, but Arcee seemed to acknowledge what he said for, as she handed 'Bee over to Bulkhead, she turned and said something quietly to Optimus.

Optimus nodded and placed a servo on his audial, "Ratchet, re-open the Ground Bridge, and prepare for surgery. And, one more thing, something has happened with Breakdown. I'll need you to check him over once you finish with Bumblebee."

" _I understand. I'll get right on that_ ," Ratchet said, just as the Ground Bridge reopened near them. Bumblebee looked back one last time at the wrecked hangar, where Optimus was talking with Breakdown quietly, then headed through the Ground Bridge alongside Bulkhead.

* * *

Breakdown snapped awake, vents heaving as the images of MECH vanished from his thoughts. Wearily he stood up, pedes slowly hitting the ground as he glanced around curiously. It was dark, and the only noise in the base was a very steady but quiet ticking.

But that wasn't what was bothering Breakdown. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that something had happened that he couldn't remember. Breakdown vented softly, shaking his helm to clear his mind of the strange thoughts when he accidentally hit into something in front of him.

"Frag!" Breakdown swore, stumbling back as whatever he had hit into scrambled up from the ground in a flurry of thick limbs and curses.

"Ratchet?" Breakdown asked, realizing it was the medic who he had smashed into by the continuous grumbling, "What were you doing just laying here?"

Ratchet's blue optics were the only light in the base as he turned his helm in Breakdown's direction and vented.

"I was just exhausted, and had to take a brief recharge. That is all."

"That is all? What is there that you aren't telling me, Ratchet?" Breakdown snapped, snatching the medic's arm before Ratchet could sneak away from him.

Ratchet looked away from Breakdown and let out another tired vent. "Yesterday, you and Bumblebee went out to the MECH base to get Bumblebee's T-cog back. Bumblebee isn't sure what happened to you but he explained to me after I repaired his T-cog that you started acting really strange. I'm guessing it had to do with the fact that you were at the MECH base, but I'm still not sure how.

"I mean, when Optimus literally _dragged_ you back to our base from the MECH hangar you didn't even have a clue why you were hanging out with, as you said it, 'your mortal enemies'. It was really odd, but I did a few things in your inner hardwiring and your processor and it seems to have worked. At least, I hope it did. For your sake, more than anything."

"Uhm, what happened with the relic?"

"Megatron has it, unfortunately, considering it is the Forge of Solus Prime."

"Oh… un, sorry.

"It's fine. Now, I am sorry, but I need to get some proper recharge. So, if you don't mind me, I will be going," Ratchet said, and then the medic walked away, turning down the the aisle that led to the Autobots' quarters.

Breakdown didn't follow after him though, instead turning back to the medical slab and sitting down on it. Vague flashes of memories were playing through his mind, but he could not understand much from them, except for one thing.

MECH was still out there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate MECH.


	15. Chapter 15

One meta-cycle had passed since the Autobots and Breakdown had encountered MECH and, aside from an occasional energy spike from the Decepticons digging for Energon, nothing exciting had happened. 

Frankly, Breakdown was glad for that, as the patchy memories of him going insane at the MECH hangar still haunted at his mind. But he wasn’t the only mech who still seemed affected by what had happened a meta-cycle ago - though at least he didn’t feel the insatiable urge to find and destroy MECH now -, for sometimes Breakdown could see the scout’s optics fade to the distance of his memories.

He felt sort of bad for the kid but, at the same time, he didn’t. Bumblebee had been hurt by MECH, but at least he had gotten back what they had taken from him. Not like Breakdown. No, Breakdown had lost more than just an  _ optic _ .

Breakdown bit back the overwhelming rush of jealousy sinking into his spark, shaking his thoughts of MECH out of his mind. He strode to his pedes and stomped out of his quarters, instinctively heading out to the main area of the base.

As Breakdown walked out of the tunnel and into the main room the now-familiar screech of a communication coming to the base turned his attention towards the HUDs, where Ratchet was standing at the controls with Optimus.

_ “Prime! What in the blazes are your people doing out here? We had an agreement, no collateral damage!” _

“I am sorry Agent Fowler, but all Autobots are present and accounted for,” Optimus replied, turning his chassis so Fowler could see Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee, along with himself and Ratchet.

_ “Then explain why I’m receiving reports of two jumbo sized bots mixing it up twenty miles outside of Omaha?” _

“Decepticons?” Ratchet suggested.

“Yea, there have been plenty of infighting lately, Megatron can’t seem to keep his ranks in line,” Arcee added, servos placed on her hip plates.

_ “Well, I’ve just arriving on the scene. Have a look,”  _ the image of Fowler switched to that of a downed ship, then zoomed up on a large, blue mech.

_ Hey, I know that mech _ , Breakdown realized and, with his curiosity piqued, moved up next to the Autobots to get a better view of what Fowler was showing them.

“I don’t know, paintjob aside, it can’t be Skyquake. You and Optimus pounded him into the ground-”

“Before Starscream yanked him back out as some kind of undead Terracon. The question still stands, who’s the dance partner?” Arcee asked, her helm tilting up to the screen as a new image showed on the screen.

This time Fowler’s images showed a smaller white ship, then shifted around as it zoomed up on a mech.

“By the Allspark, it is one of ours,” Ratchet gasped as the image on the screen grew to show only the white mech.

“Wheeljack! Haha, Jackie’s back!” Bulkhead exclaimed, smashing his servos into the Autobots, which made them stumble forward. Breakdown’s gaze snapped back to the image of Wheeljack on the large screen, his engine beginning to hiss quietly.

_ “I don’t care if Abraham Lincoln is back, we have to contain this situation before we all wind up on the 10 O’Clock News!”  _ Fowler yelled, sending one last glare towards the Autobots before he cut communications with the group.

Optimus’ gaze snapped to the Autobots and then, with a low rumble from his engine, he said, “Autobots, roll out!”

“Can I come with?’ Breakdown asked, getting in front of Optimus before he could leave. Prime glanced at Breakdown then nodded.

“That’s fine.”

* * *

The Ground Bridge opened up to the scene of one heavily damaged ship crashed into the ground, and Wheeljack kneeling to the ground. Breakdown couldn’t hide the growl that ripped from his engine at the sight of the Wrecker, but luckily none of the Autobots noticed it as they scanned for the Decepticon, who Breakdown figured was Dreadwing.

After a moment or two of the four Autobots glancing around, Bulkhead and Optimus ran one way, while Arcee and Bumblebee went another. Breakdown ran straight forwards, skidding behind a building as blasts from Dreadwing’s gun flew over the building. Warily peeking over the roof of the building, Breakdown began to move closer to where Wheeljack and Dreadwing were, his gaze tracking Bulkhead and Optimus, who were ducking blast after blast from Dreadwing’s gun.

Knowing that Dreadwing had not noticed where he had hidden, Breakdown moved around the corner of the building, rushing swiftly after Dreadwing, who had turned away from Bulkhead and Optimus. The Decepticon Seeker began firing at Arcee and Bumblebee, who swiftly returned fire. Breakdown slunk around the building, aimed his shoulder cannon at Dreadwing’s back but before he could shoot at Dreadwing a blazing hot pain hit him in the back.

Breakdown swore angrily and wheeled around, optics blazing as they locked onto Wheeljack, who slowly lowered his cannon servo to the ground. Bulkhead’s optics looked quietly towards Breakdown before he grabbed onto Wheeljack’s servos, preventing the Wrecker from doing anything more.

The sound of pedes thundering away from him drew Breakdown’s gaze back to where Dreadwing had been moments before. Noticing him not there, and arcee and Bumblebee shooting past him, Breakdown turned and watched as Dreadwing dove behind a gas station. Both Arcee and Bumblebee stopped firing the minute Dreadwing dove behind the gas station, which left Dreadwing the opportunity to notice Fowler’s jet, which was hovering over him and the gas station.

A smile crossed over Dreadwing’s faceplate and, before Fowler could react, began to scan the jet. Once Dreadwing had finished he turned around and began to flee.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Wheeljack yelled, lunging away from Bulkhead as he activated his cannons and aimed them after Dreadwing.

“Wheeljack!” Optimus protested.

“Jackie don’t!” Bulkhead yelled, scrambling to his pedes after Wheeljack.

“No! Stop!” Arcee shouted, Breakdown grabbing onto her before she could jump in the way of Wheeljack’s cannons.

But Wheeljack ignored all of them and fired his guns. The shots hit one of the fuel pumps in the gas station, which ruptured into a ball of fire immediately. Breakdown ducked away from the bright flash, Arcee and Bumblebee beside him both doing the same.

After a moment, Breakdown wheeled his gaze back to the now blazing gas station, watching as a dark blue jet burst from the fire’s smoke and blasted by Fowler’s jet, tearing away into the sky as shot after shot from Wheeljack’s cannon chased after Dreadwing.

“Dreadwing rigged the place to blow!” Wheeljack exclaimed, finally relenting, and deactivating his cannons as Bulkhead walked up behind him. Arcee and Bumblebee, followed a bit slower by Breakdown, stomped up to Wheeljack, who was still staring after Dreadwing.

“Actually that was your handiwork, sparky,” Arcee snapped, which drew Wheeljack’s gaze to her, and subsequently, Breakdown. Wheeljack’s optics narrowed at the sight of Breakdown, his servos switching back to their gun mode, which he pointed straight at Breakdown’s faceplate.

“Watch out femme!” Wheeljack warned, before he fired at Breakdown. Breakdown let out a squeak of alarm and ducked, snapping back up as the hot blast shot over his helm.

“I’m on  _ your  _ side you slagging glitch!” Breakdown roared, storming up to Wheeljack and glaring down at the Wrecker. Wheeljack looked about to retort when Bulkhead pushed between the two of them, though he was only paying attention to Wheeljack.

“Wheeljack, calm down! Breakdown  _ is  _ one of us, honestly!” Bulkhead urged, but Wheeljack ignored him and shoved Bulkhead aside, optics blazing.

“Did you do something to the Autobots, Breakdown? Are all of these guys like that fool Makeshift, and tricking me into thinking I’m with the  _ real  _ Autobots?”

“Wheeljack, stop!” Bulkhead protested once more, forcefully pulling Wheeljack back, but again Wheeljack pushed Bulkhead off him. Breakdown’s engine snarled a threat as Wheeljack stomped up to him and glared up at him.

“Listen to your pal, Wheeljack. I’m not your enemy, though I won’t protest to fighting you if you make that happen,” Breakdown hissed, turning away from Wheeljack with a disgusted snort. Wheeljack growled angrily but finally relented to Bulkhead’s urging, his pedes hitting the ground like thunder.

Bumblebee shot a glance up at Breakdown nervously, but a glare from Breakdown made the yellow scout lower his gaze immediately and move closer to Arcee.

“Wheeljack,” Optimus’ voice was unusually intolerant, which made Breakdown turn slightly to watch the Autobot leader and Wheeljack, “Breakdown has joined our side, and for that I will  _ not  _ permit you to start a fight with him. I understand you may have past discretions with each other, but we must put that aside. And you would do well to follow my lead.”

Wheeljack let out a huff from his vents then nodded slowly.

“Fine, whatever.”

* * *

“Ow!” Wheeljack protested, pulling away from Ratchet, who had been welding Wheeljack’s wound on his shoulder together, “Take it easy Doc, I need that arm.”

“Hold still and maybe you will keep it,” Ratchet retorted hotly before he resumed repairing Wheeljack’s shoulder.

“Look, Commander, apologies for the fireworks. Won’t happen again, but I tracked Dreadwing across a hundred lightyears of space,” Wheeljack explained, which made Breakdown roll his eyes.

_ Won’t happen again my aft. Wheeljack was always now for going back on what he said back when I was a Wrecker, so I highly doubt he’s changed much since then. _

“I thought you were roaming the galaxy, you know, looking for Autobot refugees?” Bulkhead quipped, which made Wheeljack’s optics turn down sadly.

“I was, until I found one. A Wrecker…”

“Who?!”

“Seaspray.” Judging by the way Wheeljack’s helm fell, and his optics dulled, Breakdown knew that Seaspray had obviously been killed or injured, but apparently Bulkhead couldn’t figure that out.

“HA! How is old barnacle butt?”

“Not so good, Bulk. Blown to bits actually,” Wheeljack’s voice grew to a tight growl as he said that, his optics turning up to Bulkhead, who stumbled away from Wheeljack, helm falling wordlessly.

“Dreadwing,” Optimus suggested, which received a small nod from Wheeljack.

“My flyer, the Jackhammer, picked up Seaspray’s signal a couple of light years from Madera. We made contact and arranged a rendezvous in the Dromadon system. But Dreadwing must have intercepted the transmission ‘cause he got to Seaspray first.

“Proximity bomb. Supposed to take us both out. Guess I should be glad the Jackhammer could take a punch. I picked up Dreadwing’s ion trail, and tracked him through a dozen solar systems before catching up with him. And he led me right back to this marble. Some coincidence, huh?”

“I know of this Dreadwing,” Optimus said, drawing the attention of everyone in base, “He was Captain of a Seeker Armada and, as such, is like his twin Skyquake. Fiercely loyal to the Decepticon cause. Dreadwing has no doubt traveled to Earth to pay allegiance to his one true master.”

“Yeah, and to get revenge for you guys killing his brother. Or at least that’s what I would imagine,” Breakdown snapped sarcastically, his temper, fueled by Wheeljack’s appearance, taking away the control he normally had around the Autobots.

Every single one of them turned on him, each with varied expressions. Optimus looked sad, Arcee looked straight up slagged off, Bulkhead and Bumblebee glanced at each other nervously, Ratchet shook his helm, and Wheeljack’s frown only grew deeper into a scowl.

“Well, I hope he  _ enjoys  _ the visit, because it will be his last,” Wheeljack growled, his optics lingering on Breakdown for a moment with a hidden threat.

_ Yeah, I know what you mean, Wheeljack. _

“Wheeljack, this planet is heavily inhabited. Any strike we make against the Decepticons must be carefully measured.  As a  _ team _ ,” Optimus informed, shifting one servo to point around the group of mechs, “lest we risk endangering the human population.”

“Are you suggesting that we sit back and do nothing-”

“YOU!” The shout from Fowler cut off the rest of what Wheeljack was saying, and his gaze snapped to the human, who continued ranting. “Loose cannon! Your cowboy antics almost blew our cover!”

“Cover?” Wheeljack asked incredulously.

“We’re robots in disguise, Jackie, you need an Earth based vehicle mode outside of here,” Bulkhead explained, tapping lightly at Wheeljack’s shoulder plate.

“That spaceship you shot down. NOT Earth based! I had to jump through some big hoops,” Breakdown couldn’t help but snicker at the mental image of Agent Fowler jumping through hoops.  _ Now  _ that  _ would be a sight to see _ , “to get it hauled out of plain sight. You need to keep a tighter leash on your people Prime.”

“A  _ tighter  _ leash?” Wheeljack whirled on Fowler, stomping towards the human, until he was glaring down at Fowler - who returned the glare without flinching - “Let me clarify,  _ tiny _ , I’m not one of Optimus Prime’s people.”

Wheeljack turned away from the rest of the group, stomping away from all of them as Bulkhead turned to Optimus.

“I’ll talk to him. Uh, with your permission.”

“Of course,” Optimus said, leaving Bulkhead to follow Wheeljack.

“So, the new guy has a little problem with authority?” Fowler asked, watching as Bulkhead got up to Wheeljack and began talking with him.

“Bulkhead and Wheeljack served together in the Wreckers, a combat unit that operated outside of the normal chain of command.”

“Hmm. Black Ops.”

“They accepted missions no one else would, and many of them did not come back.” Optimus turned his helm away from Fowler, his optics darkening.

Breakdown rumpled something to himself and turned away, stomping past Optimus and after Wheeljack and Bulkhead.

* * *

Breakdown followed the sound of the two Wrecker’s pedesteps all the way to a cave where Wheeljack’s ship was resting. He stopped and ducked into the shadows, listening to Wheeljack and Bulkhead’s conversation.

“Jackie, look. Even if it weren’t for the humans we couldn’t take on the ‘Cons right now. We’re outnumbered!”

“Roadbuster. Pyro. Impactor. Rotostorm. Seaspray.  _ All  _ dust,” Wheeljack growled, shifting away from the Jackhammer to glare at Bulkhead. No flash of joy, nor welling of sorrow, filled Breakdown at the name of the mechs he had once been friends, and later enemies, who had died. And that was the oddest feeling. At one point Breakdown would have celebrated their deaths, but not now.

“That's what I’m talking about! Wreckers  _ are  _ Autobots, there just aren't that many of us left,” Bulkhead said, “but if we get behind Optimus, we have a chance to end this. Once and for all.”

“Guys like Optimus, they talk a good game but when you are in the scrap, they don’t want to get their hands dirty,” Wheeljack snarled, his words making Breakdown raise an optic ridge questionable.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You don’t know Optimus like I do. Being a Wrecker meant everything to me,” Bulkhead admitted, a twinge of sorrow echoing from his engine.

“Because Prime was the real thing, blah, blah, blah!” Wheeljack retorted bitterly.

“Wheeljack-” Bulkhead begged, but the white mech silenced him with a snarl from his engine.

“And what in the name of Primus is Breakdown doing with you? He’s a Decepticon. Remember? This is the same Breakdown who orchestrated the attack on the Wreckers’ base that left Topspin, Sharpclaw, Corsair, Chainsteel, Skysnarl and Rumblefoot dead. And don’t forget that Annihilation, the femme  _ you  _ fancied, was killed in that attack too. And now he is working with you and the Autobots? Are you  _ crazy _ ?”

“No, Wheeljack, it isn’t like that. We helped Breakdown. He really is one of us. Optimus and Ratchet trust him, and if they do, I believe we should to,” Bulkhead said, which only angered Wheeljack more.

“Then you and your precious  _ Optimus  _ are both fools,” Wheeljack snarled. Bulkhead opened his mouth but a soft beeping stopped the green mech from speaking and turned both of their attention to the Jackhammer. Bulkhead and Wheeljack came around to the tail of the Jackhammer.

Breakdown snuck up behind them as Wheeljack opened up his ship’s door and walked in. Bulkhead followed after Wheeljack and, sneakily, Breakdown followed after.

_ “Wheeljack. I know you are out there listening. I have a proposition for you.” _

“Is that-”

“Dreadwing.” Wheeljack confirmed, as the Jackhammer’s comms blinked with a new image.

_ “Meet me at these coordinates. If you have the spark.”  _ Dreadwing’s voice drawled off with the finality of static.

“I’ll see you there ‘Con. Just to watch you fry.” Wheeljack hissed, sitting at the pilot’s chair of the Jackhammer.

“Jackie it’s a trap,” Bulkhead said.

“No, seriously?” Breakdown growled, making Wheeljack and Bulkhead snap around to him. Bulkhead looked flabbergasted but Wheeljack only began to growl.

“What do you want?” Wheeljack asked, his tone barely level, as he strode up from his seat and stomped up to Breakdown.

Breakdown raised an optic ridge causally, before turning away from Wheeljack disinterestedly. “Oh, I just wanted to see what you and Bulkhead were up to. And now that I know. I  _ don’t care _ . Galavant off if you so wish,  _ Jackie _ , and if you come back worse off from your encounter with Dreadwing, well, just say I didn’t warn you. Dreadwing is a tricky mech, far trickier than any Wrecker.”

Before Wheeljack or Bulkhead could say something in retort, Breakdown whisked around and walked out of the Jackhammer and away from the two Wreckers.

* * *

“Hey, where’d you go?” Ratchet asked Breakdown as he walked back into the Autobot base. Breakdown turned to the medic and shrugged.

“Just out. Nothing else.” Breakdown said without even pausing to look at Ratchet. He didn’t feel like explaining to either Optimus or Ratchet that he’d just willingly let Wheeljack and Bulkhead track down the deadly Decepticon, Dreadwing. He’d wait. He was in no mood to be generous and he honestly  _ wanted  _ Wheeljack and Bulkhead to learn their lesson.

“Breakdown, please-”

But Breakdown still ignored Ratchet as he walked up to the far end of the base and, with the subtly glance, observed Ratchet and Optimus, waiting for the right time to tell them.

* * *

“Bulkhead’s signal, over a thousand miles from here, and I would have to imagine that Wheeljack is with him.” Ratchet’s voice, worried as it was, drew Breakdown’s attention to where Ratchet and Optimus were glancing over the HUDs. “But why?”

“Oh!” Breakdown exclaimed, biting back the sarcasm as he walked up to Ratchet and Optimus, both of whom turned to look at him, “I must have forgotten to tell you. Bulkhead and Wheeljack went off to go fight Dreadwing. I  _ can’t  _ imagine how I forgot to tell you two.”

Ratchet’s mouth fell open in disbelief, his vents puffing with frustration.

“Oh for the love of Primus, somebody save me from the idiocy of these Wreckers,” Ratchet muttered before he turned the full brunt of his anger on Breakdown. “And  _ why  _ did you deem  _ not  _ to tell us this, Breakdown?”

“Uh, I don’t know,” Breakdown admitted casually, which only made Ratchet press an exhausted servo to his faceplate.

“I can’t believe this. First, Wheeljack blows up a gas station and now you’ve gone and let him and Bulkhead face off Dreadwing. Without telling us?” Ratchet vented, “Disappointing.”

“Ratchet,” Optimus’ voice snapped Ratchet away from berating Breakdown and back to the leader, who looked worried, “have you attempted contact with either of them?”

“Yes, but no response.”

“Then lock onto Wheeljack coordinates, ratchet. We do not know what trouble they may have run into,” Prime said, Ratchet nodding in acknowledgement as he activated the Ground Bridge. Realizing now would be a good time to go back to his quarters, Breakdown turned,  but before he could go anywhere Prime’s ice-cold voice halted him in his tracks.

“You are coming with me.”

Breakdown turned around slowly and vented.

“Okay…”

* * *

The Ground Bridge had dropped Breakdown and Optimus off near a large, fallen pile of rocks. As both of the mechs approached the rocks, Breakdown began to hear what sounded like someone straining and groaning from within the rocks. Breakdown walked up closer, then jumped back, startled at the sight of a silver servo pushing out from underneath the rocks, struggling to move the rocks away.

At the same time Breakdown and Optimus moved to the rocks, each helping move aside the rocks until they could see Wheeljack, who was covered in dust.

“What took you so long Bulk? Don’t tell me riding with Prime has made you-” Wheeljack stopped what he was saying as his optics landed on Optimus, who had just finished pulling away a rock pinning Wheeljack’s leg. “-soft…”

Breakdown rolled his optics and checked his scanner for any sign of Bulkhead’s signature, but nothing showed up. He turned around and watched as Optimus helped Wheeljack out of the rocks, though it took a bit of straining and pulling to finally get Wheeljack out of the pile.

“If you will not take orders from me, that is one thing, but when you place one of my Autobots in danger-”

“With all due respect, Sir, Bulkhead knew the risks. Every Wrecker does, I’m sure he’s just… somewhere in this rubble,” Wheeljack said hopefully, though Breakdown knew it was pointless hope.

_ “Optimus, Bulkhead’s signal has moved from your current position,”  _ Ratchet’s words only confirmed what Breakdown suspected and, with them, Wheeljack began to move away from Optimus and Breakdown. The Wrecker turned his gaze to them for a brief moment.

“You coming with?”

Optimus turned his gaze to Breakdown, who shrugged, and together the both of them followed right after Wheeljack.

* * *

 

Calling the inside of the Jackhammer cramped would be putting it very,  _ very  _ lightly. Breakdown was shoved in the very back of the Jackhammer, while Optimus looked extremely uncomfortable in the copilot seat. 

“You and Bulkhead share quite a history and yet, you would prefer to work alone,” Optimus attempted to strike conversation with Wheeljack, who gave the Autobot leader half of his attention.

“The Wreckers scattered a long time ago, and alone is usually a lot less complicated.” Wheeljack’s curt tone halted anymore conversation Optimus could have seeked for and stretched out a cold silence within the Jackhammer.

The flew for a while, until the Jackhammer’s scanner began its continuous beeping as they neared a shipping yard. Wheeljack maneuvered the Jackhammer down to the shipyard, slowly setting the ship down amongst stacks of shipping containers.

Once the Jackhammer was shut off, Breakdown got off, thankful to not be stuck in so small a space anymore. He waited as Optimus slowly walked out of the Jackhammer, followed by Wheeljack, who had a scanner in his servo.

“This way,” Wheeljack indicated, turning and heading down a row. Breakdown and Optimus followed after him, with Optimus keeping guard at their backs.

“We are close to population. Remember-”

“Blasters and fuel pumps don’t mix. Our boy is just up ahead,” Wheeljack said just as they rounded a turn in the row, halting at the sight before him. Breakdown came around Wheeljack’s right to see what he was staring at and stepped back in surprise.

Bulkhead’s servos were strapped to a row of shipping containers by two electronic bands, and there was one of Dreadwing’s bombs strapped to his chestplate. “Hey, guys…”

“Scrap.” Wheeljack growled, before he shared a look with Optimus and Breakdown. Wheeljack moved up to Bulkhead. “You really got yourself in a heap of scrap this time, partner.”

“Stay back, Jackie,” Bulkhead warned, though Wheeljack ignored him soundly as the white mech lowered himself down to stare at the bomb strapped to Bulkhead.

“Better get to work.”

“Have you defused one of these before?” Optimus asked, just as Wheeljack tapped something on Dreadwing’s omb which snapped up the face of the bomb.

“Failsafes, dummy-leads, boobytraps. It’s a work of art,” was the only answer Wheeljack gave before Optimus turned to Breakdown and signaled him to follow. Breakdown shrugged and moved after the Decepticon leader, glancing back at Wheeljack and Bulkhead once before catching up to Optimus.

“What are we doing?”

Optimus turned his helm to Breakdown then, with his optics determined, said, “To find the one mech who can safely defuse the bomb.”

“Oh,” Breakdown said, looking away from Optimus without another word.

Optimus lead Breakdown aways through row after row of the shipping containers, finally stopping at one row. Breakdown halted and moved against the stacked containers, watching as Optimus tilted his helm upwards.

“Dreadwing! If you are anything like Skyquake, I know that you value loyalty and honor,” Prime yelled, his voice echoing throughout the shipping yard.

“Is there a point to your bluster, Prime?”

“Only that Megatron knows nothing of those principles. He lives solely for destruction, and conquest, but there is another path. Deactivate the bomb,” Prime said.

“It’s pointless to reason with him,” Breakdown whispered, “Dreadwing is so honor bound to the Decepticons that he would rather die than leave them.”

Optimus turned to Breakdown, about to say something when the sudden, sharp burst of Dreadwing’s cannon firing in their direction caused both of them to scamper away from the shipping containers they had been hiding behind.

“Split up,” Optimus urged, Breakdown nodding in acknowledgement to the Prime’s command. Breakdown took a left, looping back around to the place he and Optimus had been before Dreadwing had shot at them.

Breakdown glanced around, listening to the loud blaster fire echoing throughout the shipyard, before his gaze landed on a loading crane. Breakdown moved to one of the cranes, grabbing onto a set of the stairs when he suddenly heard a heavy thud a ways from him. Breakdown immediately activated his shoulder cannon and aimed it, wary that Dreadwing was somewhere near him, but it was Bulkhead running towards the edge of the shipyard.

“Bulkhead, wait!” Wheeljack yelled as he landed in front of Bulkhead, tensing his body as Bulkhead crashed into him and began to push the white mech towards the ocean. “Would you listen to me, Bulk?”

But Bulkhead did not listen to Wheeljack as he continued to push against Wheeljack, finally stopping when Wheeljack’s pedes hit the edge of the dock, and pushed against Bulkhead. Breakdown abandoned what he was planning originally and bolted over to Wheeljack and Bulkhead, ready to grab Bulkhead if the former Wrecker did anything crazy.

“You were right! Dreadwing is the only one who can defuse it, and Optimus knows it to,” Wheeljack’s gaze turned to the left, and up, which Breakdown followed to see Optimus scaling his way up one of the loading cranes.

“We should hide,” Breakdown muttered, turning and diving behind one of the loading cranes, which Bulkhead and Wheeljack followed suit. Breakdown turned his gaze, watching as Dreadwing walked out from a row of container warily. The large Decepticon did not notice as he walked under one of the magnet lifts until Prime let out a booming roar. Dreadwing’s gaze snapped up, but he could not avoid the magnet crushing him to the ground. Once Dreadwing was done, Wheeljack leapt to his pedes, with Breakdown and Bulkhead following right after until they had surrounded the lift.

Dreadwing could not move as the magnet had crushed the entirety of his chassis, minus the upper part of his chestplate and helm. Breakdown was relieved - though he wouldn’t say that to Optimus or the others - that Dreadwing was still alive, as evidenced by the Decepticon groaning and moving his helm slowly.

“Dreadwing, defuse the bomb or fall victim to your own device,” Prime growled, which made Bulkhead glance towards him nervously.

“I will  _ gladly  _ sacrifice myself to avenge my brother,” Dreadwing snarled, though only Breakdown was able to detect the misery buried deep in Dreadwing’s voice.

“Then we will, in turn, gladly join the Allspark,”  _ Wait, what? _ , “with our brother.”

“And with you,” Wheeljack added, “You’ll never shake us.”

_ Uh, I didn’t sign up for this, I didn’t agree to die. Do not include me in this conversation, please!  _ Breakdown thought, nervously tuning his gaze from Wheeljack, who had crossed his arms over his chestplate, then to Dreadwing.

“Very well,” Dreadwing finally said, to much the relief of Breakdown, as Optimus, Wheeljack and Breakdown helped lift the magnet off of Dreadwing. Dreadwing slowly lifted himself up to a sitting position, then lifted one of his clawed digits towards Bulkhead. The bomb began to beep faster, and louder, then stopped when Dreadwing pulled a wire from the bomb.

Bulkhead let out a vent of relief.

“I had it narrowed down to the blue or the yellow,” Wheeljack said, “or the red.”

Breakdown rolled his optic and turned his gaze back to Dreadwing, who was oddly doing the same exact thing. Dreadwing’s optics showed no emotion, then suddenly Breakdown saw one of Dreadwing’s digits move. Before Breakdown could stop the Seeker, Dreadwing tapped his bomb activation, which set off a flurry of explosions throughout the entire shipyard.

Dreadwing leapt to his pedes, shoved Breakdown aside, and leapt off the edge of the shipyard dock, transforming into his jet form and blasting away from Breakdown and the Autobots.

“So, who do we call for clean up?” Wheeljack quipped as he, and everyone else, turned to stare at the now burning shipyard. 

Breakdown groaned at Wheeljack and rubbed at his helm.

_ Idiot _ .

* * *

 

“Listen, Commander, I just wanted to say what an honor it was to watch you work. I think I may have had the wrong idea about you,” Wheeljack admitted, rubbing at his helm shamefully.

Breakdown, Optimus, Wheeljack and Bulkhead had gotten back to the Autobot base and were all gathered together.

“And it would seem that you place a greater value on community than you otherwise let on,” Optimus said as he offered out a servo to Wheeljack.

“Whoa, let’s not jump the gun here,” Wheeljack said, raising his servos in protest to Optimus’ offered servo.

Bulkhead smacked Wheeljack in the back, sending him stumbling forward. “Come on Jackie, if you leave you will properly just wind up coming right back again.”

“All that wasted fuel.  _ And  _ Energon is in short supply,” Arcee added, with Bumblebee saying something right after her.

“Then again, we  _ do  _ have limited space,” Ratchet snapped, turning away from Wheeljack, who gave the medic a strange smile.

“Not sure if I’m ready to give up my freedom just yet,” Wheeljack offered, looking again towards Ratchet, “Maybe I can do some exploring. See if this rock suits me.”

“Eh, no offense to the Jackhammer, but you need an Earth-based vehicle mode,” Bulkhead reminded, and Breakdown watched as an old, yet still familiar, smile curved over Wheeljack’s scarred faceplate.

_ Great _ , Breakdown thought,  _ he’s going to pick the exact  _ opposite  _ of “in disguise”, isn’t he? _


	16. Chapter 16

" _Welcome to the Wreckers, kid." Breakdown said to the gold and blue femme standing before him._

" _I'm not a kid," she snapped, the wings on her back flaring out with her rising temper._

_Breakdown turned away and rolled his optics. "Yeah, whatever. You are a kid compared to the rest of the Wreckers, you don't even_ look  _like you ever fought in a battle before. Now what was your name again?"_

" _Annihilation, Sir. I'm was part of the Communications Unit before my higher-ups had me transferred to the Wreckers, where they believed my skills would come in better use," the femme said, her stance rigid with a salute._

" _You don't need to salute me. That isn't a thing we do here in the Wreckers."_

" _Uh, oh… Sorry, Sir," Annihilation whispered, lowering her servo out of its salute before she glanced around Breakdown. Breakdown followed her gaze, then turned to her._

" _Want to met the rest of the Wreckers?"_

" _Oh, yes, please!"_

_Breakdown sighed, then led her along, passing the armory, training room, dining hall until he finally reached the main room of the Wreckers' base. Annihilation stopped beside him and gaped at the mechs, all of varied sizes, shapes and talents, sparring, talking or grousing about with each other. Her gaze turned to Breakdown, who pointed her forward. She nodded and began to follow Breakdown as he introduced her to each Wrecker._

_He finally stopped at two Wreckers, one a large, green mech, the other a lean silver-and-white mech._

" _These two are Bulkhead and Wheeljack, respectively. They are the ones I work with the most. Guys, this is Annihilation. She is the Communications Chief we were told about," Breakdown said, which got a happy smile from Wheeljack._

" _It is nice to meet you," Wheeljack said as he walked up to Annihilation, who looked at him nervously as Wheeljack bent down beside her, and said, not quietly, "Has Breakdown been telling you about all of his_ boring  _life inside the Wreckers? Or has he just been complaining again?"_

" _Wheeljack," Breakdown growled, though only half-heartedly. He and Wheeljack, one an original Wrecker, the other a much newer one, always loved to joke and tease each other, and today was no different._

_Annihilation shook her helm at Wheeljack's question, her optics turning to Bulkhead, who gave her a sheepish wave of one servo._

" _Hey," Bulkhead said, his voice oddly nervous._

What's up with the fool?  _Breakdown wondered, though he brushed it off when he remembered that he still had to bring the new recruit to the Wreckers Second-in-Command, Seaspray, as their Commandeer was off with the main Autobot leaders._

" _Come on, kid. You can talk with Wheeljack and Bulkhead later. I have to take you to Seaspray, and I don't fancy being late," Breakdown pulled the femme along, giving a short wave to Wheeljack and Bulkhead as he left._

" _So you guys are all friends?" Annihilation's question gave pause to Breakdown's strides, which made her stop abruptly behind him. Breakdown turned his gaze onto Annihilation, unable to hide the anger blazing within their yellow depths._

" _You don't make friends in the Wreckers, and that is a lesson you need to learn," Breakdown snarled, turning away from her before he could see the hurt expression flash over her faceplate._

" _Why can't we have friends?" Annihilation asked, jumping in front of Breakdown, who halted once more. Breakdown turned his helm away from the femme._

" _Because, if you get to attached to someone in war, more often than not, they die. And," Breakdown suddenly whirled his gaze back to the femme, who jumped back from him nervously, "in this field of war, it's_ very  _likely that, sooner or later, you will come back from a mission and your 'friends' will be dead. It's just easier."_

_Breakdown pushed the femme away from his path and began heading, once again, towards Seaspray's quarters. The femme hesitated then chased after him, catching up to Breakdown, who gave her a sharp growl from his engine._

" _You lost someone close to you? Didn't you-"_

" _Enough!" Breakdown wheeled on the femme, anger tightening through his chassis. "Seaspray is waiting for you through that door." Without waiting to see that Annihilation met with Seaspray, Breakdown wheeled all the way around and stomped away._

_He passed Wheeljack and Bulkhead, who were talking to each other very quietly, but stopped when Breakdown stomped past them. Wheeljack scrambled to his pedes and moved up beside Breakdown, who pointedly ignored him._

" _Breakdown, what happened?" Wheeljack asked, as Bulkhead moved up on Breakdown's right side._

_Breakdown said nothing to either, which made them share a worried glance with each other._

" _Breakdown, hey, stop!" Bulkhead said as he got in front of Breakdown, which made Breakdown stop and glare at Bulkhead. Wheeljack walked in front of Breakdown, his bright blue optics worried._

" _You okay?"_

"Yes _."_

_Wheeljack and Bulkhead once again glanced at each other, this time disbelievingly, before Wheeljack turned back to Breakdown._

" _Breakdown, remember we are all in this together. We have your back, no matter what happens to us."_

" _Right," Breakdown replied, optics shifting away from his two companions. For some reason, something was telling him that, someday, that wouldn't be true._

* * *

"Breakdown! Get up!" Arcee's call snapped Breakdown from his dream - well, more a memory than anything, one of many Breakdown had been having since Wheeljack had resurfaced on Earth - and recharge. Breakdown leapt to his pedes, glancing around his room furiously until he felt Arcee grab his arm soothingly.

"Hey, it's okay. But something's happened, Ratchet just called me on my comms. You should come too," Arcee said.

"Uh, okay," Breakdown replied, following after the femme as she left his room. Breakdown moved up beside her and looked down, "Did Ratchet  _say_ what was wrong?"

"No, not really. He just sounded worried about whatever it was," Arcee explained. Breakdown nodded distractedly, only half-listening to Arcee as they began the long walk to the main room

"Breakdown?"

"Hmm? Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Why do you ask, Arcee?"

"Because," Arcee moved in front of Breakdown, stopping him in his tracks, "you've been really out of it since Wheeljack was here. You didn't even  _want_ to go with us when we went fought Airachnid and the Decepticons a few days ago. Did something happen when Wheeljack was here?"

Breakdown tried to sidestep Arcee, but she moved in front of him no matter how he turned and finally he gave a relenting vent. "No, nothing happened because of him. It's just… I've been thinking of a lot of things lately. Old memories, regrets, that sort of thing. Nothing to important."

Arcee growled under her breath, the gave a sharp glare to Breakdown. "Really? That is all you can say, Breakdown? I'm not a fool, I can tell there is something between you and Wheeljack, and I'm not even mentioning you and Bulkhead. So what in the name of Primus,  _is_ your problem?"

Breakdown turned away from Arcee, hoping to ignore her, but she still would not let him pass her by, so Breakdown stomped right up to her and leaned down, until he was glaring right into her optics.

"If you really want to know, Arcee, fine. I will tell you, and you better shut up about it from now on." Arcee stepped back from Breakdown, every so subtly, but nodded, which made Breakdown vent unhappily.

"As an Autobot, I'm guessing you've never been betrayed by you trust, have you?"

"Not really… But what does that have to do with anything? You were a Decepticon before you came with us, and so I would imagine that betrayal is something that happened all the time with your former faction. But Autobots  _don't_ betray each other," Arcee said, her tone incredulous from Breakdown's question. Breakdown turned away from Arcee for a moment, hiding the dark laugh that escaped from his mouth, before he turned back on Arcee.

"It must be  _nice_ , having such a simple view on life. Decepticon are bad and Autobots are perfect,  _amazing_ , and always good. Right?" Breakdown growled, leaning down closer to Arcee, who was beginning to back away from him.

"I don't have a 'simple' view on life, Breakdown, it is the truth!"

"HA! You really are naive, Arcee-"

Arcee snarled, interrupting Breakdown as she tensed up in front of him. "I am  _not_ naive, Breakdown. Unfortunately, it is the truth about Autobots and Decepticons. I've never known an Autobot who would hurt their friends, while I  _know_ Decepticons will hurt anyone. They don't care about others."

"Then you must be one lucky Autobot. Sadly, I wouldn't say that  _I_ had the same experience being an Autobot as you have-"

"Wait. What? You were an  _Autobot_?" Arcee interrupted, her optics ablaze with shock.

"Oh, you didn't know? And, technically, I was a Wrecker. Not an Autobot. But I'm guessing Bulkhead never wanted to admit that little tidbit of history to you guys, did he?" Breakdown snarled, shoving past Arcee forcefully, as he was not in any kind of mood to explain to her his story.

The sound of Arcee's pedes chasing after him made Breakdown walk away from her faster, but she, only by running, caught up to him, her blue optics like ice. She opened her mouth to say something but, with a rumbling growl from his engine, Breakdown shot her a cold glare that made her falter for a moment.

Breakdown said nothing more to the femme, and she the same, as the two continued down the hallway until they reached the main area of the base. Bulkhead and Bumblebee were already there, as Ratchet was busy downloading coordinates into the Ground Bridge.

"What's happening?" Arcee asked, coming up near Ratchet.

"Fowler just contacted us. He's saying that Optimus is trying to run him off the road, I'm sending you out there to see what is going on," Ratchet explained just as the Ground Bridge was activated. Arcee cast a confused glance to Bulkhead and Bumblebee, who returned the glance to her.

Breakdown moved past all of them, stopping at the Ground bridge and glancing back. "Are we going or not?"

"We're going," Arcee replied and, with Bumblebee and Bulkhead following her lead, the four of them transformed into their alt modes and drove through the Ground Bridge.

* * *

Breakdown had seen a lot of things in his life, but seeing what did look like Optimus Prime trying to push a small car off a bridge was a new one for sure. Bumblebee shot ahead of the group, racing towards Prime then transforming out of his alt mode as the car Prime had been pushing off the bridge, fell. Once the car had fallen, the semi that looked like Prime began to drive away hurriedly.

Bulkhead and Arcee transformed out of their alt modes as Breakdown maneuvered over to where Bumblebee was holding onto the car's bumper. Breakdown bent down over the hole in the bridge railing, snatching onto the end of the car, which began to creak as Breakdown and Bumblebee slowly began to pull it up.

"It looks like Optimus," Bulkhead said in the background, which Arcee followed up with a growl.

"Prime's don't run." Arcee transformed back into her alt mode and roared away, heavy pedesteps announcing Bulkhead's presence next to Breakdown. Bulkhead reached his servo out to help pull the car up but, before Bulkhead could grab onto the car, the car tore away from its bumper and began to fall.

Bumblebee himself began to fall, so Breakdown had to catch him, as Bulkhead leapt from the bridge and dove after the falling car. Breakdown yanked Bumblebee up onto the bridge and, together, he and Bumblebee glanced down where Bulkhead had landed on the ground and caught the car.

Bumblebee beeped something at Bulkhead, who gave them a thumbs up. "Fowler's okay, just unconscious. Has Arcee come back?"

"No, she hasn't," Breakdown yelled back, glancing in the direction Arcee had raced off. "I'll go check on her. You should contact Ratchet for a Ground Bridge."

Bulkhead gave a short nod to Breakdown as Breakdown wheeled about and transformed back into his alt mode as he followed where Arcee had gone. Breakdown traveled down the road for a mile or two when he spotted a gas station to his right, illuminated by his headlights, but that wasn't all.

Arcee's alt form was laying on the ground next to one of the abandoned gas pumps, the metal on her left side crushed in, almost as if something large had hit her. Warily, Breakdown transformed out of his alt mode, glancing around for the Optimus look-a-like for a moment or two, then bent down to Arcee.

Breakdown glanced quickly over Arcee's chassis, noting the damage she had received, then activated his comms.

"Ratchet, open up a Ground Bridge when you can. Arcee's been hit pretty badly," Breakdown said as he bent down and picked Arcee up. Arcee did not make a sound, which only made Breakdown certain that she had been knocked into stasis by whatever - or, whoever, had done this to her.

A Ground Bridge opened up by Breakdown and he walked through it with Arcee in his arms.

* * *

"Yes, that's it. Follow the light," Ratchet said as Arcee's optics began to open slowly inside the examination area. Breakdown was standing to the left of Ratchet, with Bumblebee watching nervously beside him.

Arcee slowly shook her helm, then suddenly looked up at Ratchet. "Wait, what?" Arcee vented, then slowly shifted out of the examination room, though Bumblebee and Ratchet had to steady her as she glanced up at Ratchet. "Not the best choice of words, Ratchet…"

Arcee moved away from Ratchet and Bumblebee, her steps slow. Breakdown watched behind Bumblebee, leaning against the platform railing.

"Arcee, are you alright?" Jack asked the two-wheeler.

"Sure," she said, though everyone could tell she wasn't, "Except for being blind-sided by Optimus."

"Didn't I tell you?" Fowler snapped, his dark optics angry. Ratchet moved up to Arcee, who glanced at him wearily.

"Impossible," Ratchet spat.

"I'm only reporting what I saw," Arcee explained.

"But, why would Optimus try to knock off Agent Fowler?" Jack questioned.

_Maybe 'cause he realized humans stink_ , Breakdown thought sarcastically, though he knew that the Prime would never think that of the humans.  _Except maybe MECH._

"Maybe Optimus believes he is a Decepticon all over again?" Rafael guessed, though Breakdown doubted that.

"Or," Miko added, "he's been faking being a good guy all this time?"

"If Prime  _has_ gone off the rails, for any reason, we have a serious problem," Fowler grumbled, which made Ratchet scoff disbelievingly.

"This is absurd," Ratchet growled, moving up to the HUDs control, "A quick check for Optimus' signal will reveal that he's nowhere near the location of tonight's incident. In fact, he's just returning now."

Ratchet turned his chassis to the entrance tunnel into the base, where a steady rumble was soon to be heard echoing out. Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee moved to get a better view of the entrance tunnel, though Breakdown stayed where he was, as he didn't really believe this was something he wanted to get into.

After a bit Optimus drove out of the tunnel, transforming out of his alt mode, and slowly walking up to the four Autobots staring at him. When Optimus got close to them, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee all tensed up, though Ratchet stayed perfectly calm.

"Is something wrong?" Optimus asked the four mechs.

"We were just," Arcee began, then glanced towards Bulkhead before speaking again, "wondering where you've been."

"We haven't been able to reach you," Bulkhead added.

"I have been outside of our communication range," Optimus explained as he turned slowly to his right. Immediately, in reaction to Optimus' movement, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee all jumped back, aiming their blasters towards their leader. Ratchet looked stunned and Breakdown raised one optic ridge.

"Whoa!" "Easy!" Bulkhead and Arcee said at the same time, which made Optimus turn to them very slowly and hold up one servo in a non-threatening gesture.

"-In a subterranean Energon deposit," Optimus finished explaining, revealing a small Energon crystal to the three tense Autobots. Arcee and Bulkhead glanced towards each other, then back to Optimus.

"Come on, it's our guy. Can't you tell?" Jack snapped, which made Arcee and Bulkhead glance at each warily once more, then slowly deactivate their blasters.

"We're sorry."

"Don't blame them, Prime. I was attacked earlier tonight, out on the open highway, by a big rig. One that bore a striking resemblance to you," Fowler explained, turning Optimus' worried gaze to him.

"I don't not understand how that is possible," Optimus muttered.

"I'm not sure, Prime, but I would suggest that, until we get this mystery of who the heck this Prime look-a-like is, you stay here," Fowler suggested, which did not seem to please Optimus.

"Agent Fowler, I do not mean to disrespect you, but it is very important that I find this, other self, and stop it."

A sudden ringing from Fowler stopped anyone else from speaking as the human flipped open a small device and placed it to his audial.

"Fowler. What? That's not possible! I can tell you, as sure as there are fifty stars on my star-spangled shorts, it isn't him!" Fowler turned towards Optimus, shutting his device before walking closer to the edge of the platform. "Alden Military Base is under attack. By Optimus Prime."

"The truck?" Jack asked.

Fowler shook his head and pointed to Optimus, "By the 'Bot."

Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee all turned to stare at their leader, whose optics were emotionless and his faceplate expressionless.

"Well, I guess your wish has come true, Prime. Now go save those boys at the base from this, whatever it is!"

* * *

Ratchet was pacing ceaselessly back and forth in the base, his every movement punctuated by nervousness. Breakdown had not gone with the Autobots to the humans' military base, deciding instead to stay out of this strange mess with the Prime look-a-like.

But something felt off. Not just for the fact that there was a crazy, murderous Optimus running around. No, it was something else. He knew that Megatron would never do something like this, no matter how much the Decepticon hated the Autobots Breakdown couldn't imagine Megatron making a fake Optimus.

So that left only one group who would do something like this.

MECH.

" _Autobots, return to base! We must not inflict human casualties!"_ Optimus' voice, and the subsequent sound of the Ground bridge being activated snapped Breakdown away from the revelation.

A moment later Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Optimus all charged through the Ground Bridge, skidding to a halt with heavy vents.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked Optimus, who looked up at him and, very matter of factly, said,

"It is as you said. Another me."

* * *

"No, General Bryce, Optimus Prime did  _not_ attack our boys. Because I was with Prime when I received the alert! Yes, Sir. The Autobots were at your base, but only in response to the initial attack. But Sir, I- Yes, Sir, I understand," Fowler vented as he closed his device, one optic turning to Optimus, who was once again showing no emotion on his faceplate.

"So, what's the damage?" Jack asked. Fowler vented once more, then turned his gaze to Jack.

"All military personnel are under strict orders to destroy any, and all, 'Bots on sight."

"Are you kidding?"

"But, their innocent!" Raphael exclaimed.

"Optimus was framed!" Miko snarled.

"Though unfortunate, the military order changes nothing. Our imposter clearly imposes a great threat to humanity," Optimus stated, his words making Breakdown growl with irritation.

_It is always about the humans._

"A thirty-foot tall transforming imposter," Fowler emphasized.

"So, they finally did it. Those butchers managed to crack the code," Ratchet said seriously, his optics turning to Breakdown for the briefest of moments.

"MECH," Optimus growled.

Breakdown shuddered then, without really looking at anyone, hurried down the hallway to his quarters, stopping to lean against the wall and listen to the Autobots conversation.

"MECH abducted Breakdown and, by all indications, deconstructed him from cranial chamber to heel strut."

"I was there," Bulkhead said darkly.

Breakdown winced, ducking ever further against the wall of the hallway. He had been planning to go back to his quarters, and stay there, until he'd heard the Autobots start talking amongst themselves, almost the second he'd gone into the hallway. So now, he was listening in to their conversation.

"And we know that more recently, they obtained Starscream's T-cog," Optimus added.

"Which they evidently installed in a knock off of you," Arcee alluded to their mission previous.

"Which, in turn, scanned an appropriate vehicle form," Ratchet added, glancing towards Arcee.

"Filled a tank with Energon-"

"And say hello to Nemesis Prime!" Miko interjected, which made Jack send her an unhappy scowl.

"So where do we start? MECH's base could be  _anywhere_ -"

"Not necessarily Agent Fowler, while MECH may have learned much of our biology-"

"They haven't necessarily absorbed our technology. Without access to a Ground Bridge, Nemesis Prime would rely solely on its vehicle mode for transportation," Ratchet explained, his servos flicking over the controls of the HUDs to show an image of Nemesis Prime.

"Chances are that the MECH base is within driving distance of both incidents," Arcee suggested, walking up beside Optimus.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get out there and mash MECH's little science project!"

"Agent Fowler, I do not think it advisable to put yourself in harms way of MECH's robot again," Prime said to the human, who gave the Autobot leader a questioning look.

"Well I don't think it's advisable for 'Bots to be running recon with the military out there gunning for you," Fowler snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We will maintain vehicular cover until absolutely necessary," Optimus assured, though Fowler only gave him the stiffest of stares.

"So," Arcee asked, "How are we going to do this?"

"We will split up and search in proximity of where the base may be," Optimus answered, his gaze turning to each Autobot, "Bulkhead, you will go out to the mesas, Arcee, I want out on the road, search as far as you can. Bumblebee, you'll head out to the east of Arcee's position. And I will be heading north. If anyone finds even a hint of MECH, contact the others."

Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee all nodded, turning to the entrance tunnel when Bulkhead suddenly stopped and turned his gaze to Optimus. Arcee and Bumblebee stopped and turned, both with matching quizzical expressions on her faceplates, watching as Bulkhead walked up to his leader.

"Optimus, what about Breakdown?" Bulkhead asked, his gaze turning to the hallway Breakdown was hiding in. Fearing they would notice that he had been listening in to their conversation, Breakdown ducked into the shadows of the hallway, though he stayed put.

Optimus followed Bulkhead's gaze, then shook his helm sadly. "We can not risk Breakdown having another…  _episode_ , like he did the last time we had dealings with MECH. It s better for him if-"

"How do  _you_ know what's best for me, Prime?" The words escaped Breakdown's voice before he could even think, anger fueling his stride as he marched up to the Autobots. Bulkhead shifted his optics between Optimus and Breakdown, stepping away from the two rapidly as Breakdown glared up at Optimus.

"Breakdown, I understand-"

"Oh, do you? I'm surprised, I don't remember  _you_ ever being dissected, or looked at as some kind tool for one's experiment," Breakdown snarled, his engine revving angrily, "No, Optimus. You don't know. And you never will."

Bulkhead moved closer to Breakdown, his optics pleading and servos raised, but Breakdown only turned his glare on Bulkhead.

"Don't even start with me, Bulkhead." Bulkhead lowered his servos, optics falling shamefully as Breakdown turned his gaze back to Optimus, who let out a drawn vent.

"Breakdown, it is safest for you not to encounter MECH once again-"

"Safe for  _who_? Your Autobots?" Breakdown snorted derisively, his anger reaching a boiling point, "Or is your concern over the fact that I am willing to  _kill_ my enemies, unlike you, especially if they are  _human_. But you can't handle anyone of your precious Autobots being violent. Can you?"

"Breakdown…" Ratchet warned, but Breakdown ignored him.

"I'm going out there, and looking for MECH, and you  _won't_ stop me." With those words, Breakdown transformed into his alt mode and raced out of the base, ignoring the shouts from Bulkhead and Arcee.

* * *

Breakdown still hadn't found a trace of MECH, or Nemesis Prime, even though he had been searching for more than two… hours, as humans would say. None of the Autobots had tried to contact him over the radio - he didn't care about that - since he'd left, though he had heard chatter over his comms from them.

" _Nothing but tumbleweeds here,"_ Bulkhead said over the comms, which Arcee followed up with, " _Just a whole lot of empty."_

Bumblebee let out a string of beeps, which got mild responses from Bulkhead and Arcee, before Optimus halted them with a rumble from his engine.

" _Bumblebee, proceed with utmost caution. Reconnaissance only, we will rendezvous at your coordinates."_

A moment later, Bumblebee's coordinates flashed up on Breakdown's monitor, and he turned in the direction of the coordinates, more than happy for once to follow Optimus' orders.

* * *

Bumblebee's coordinates led to an old factory.

Breakdown stopped at the entrance, glancing around for the others before he transformed out of his alt mode and gazed around warily. The old factory was shrouded in shadow, with only the moon illuminating bits of it.

"Hey, Breakdown!"

Breakdown shied sideways at the sound of Bulkhead's voice, then snapped his gaze behind him, where Bulkhead, Arcee and Optimus were walking up behind him. Breakdown gave the three Autobots a stiff nod, then fell in beside them as they walked into the factor.

"Bumblebee, do you read?" Optimus called over the coms, but they were met only with harsh static.

Arcee whirled her gaze to Optimus, her chassis tense. "Spread out?"

Breakdown tensed up, activating his shoulder cannon and switching his servos to his hammers as the Autobots began to split up.

"And beware of anything that might resemble me," Optimus warned.

Breakdown snapped his gaze away from Optimus and began his way into the factory.

Shadows lapped at the edge of Breakdown's vision, the silence of the factory only making Breakdown more wary. He'd heard the faint hiss of static twice over his comms, which he was certain was the Autobots fighting Nemesis Prime.

He only hoped-

"Well, well."

Optimus' voice, yet at the same time, not Optimus' voice, snapped Breakdown's attention to his right. There, in the shadows, came Optimus, but with cold, emotionless  _orange_ optics.

"You," Breakdown snarled, unable to hide his nerves as he backed away from Nemesis Prime, who had begun to advance on him slowly.

"Ah, I see you remember me, I'm surprised, frankly. But you won't escape me this time," Nemesis Prime snarled before he lunged for Breakdown.

Breakdown let out a roar and lunged towards Nemesis Prime, smashing his hammer-servo into the machine's side, Nemesis Prime stumbled back only slightly from Breakdown's hit. Nemesis Prime recovered swiftly, and fired one of his guns at Breakdown.

The white-hot blast hit into Breakdown's chestplate, forcing him to stumble back, but rage made me recover and fire his own gun at Nemesis Prime. Breakdown's blasts hit the imposter in the left shoulder plate, but it did not even seem to faze the machine so Breakdown switched back brute force.

Breakdown dove to the side, dodging a swing from Nemesis Prime, and barreled into Nemesis Prime's back. Breakdown's hit sent Nemesis Prime crashing into a large silo behind the machine but, before Breakdown could strike Nemesis Prime again, it lunged up and fired both of its guns.

There was no time for Breakdown to dodge either blast and, with a roar of pain, Breakdown stumbled backwards, shaking his helm desperately to clear the pain from his processor.

"You've given me more trouble than I expected, Decepticon. You asked me the first time and then you nosed into my business in Colorado," Nemesis Prime - no,  _Silas_ , this was the human who had ordered his dissection, voice - snarled, his heavy footfalls echoed in Breakdown's audials like thunder.

Ominously, from above Breakdown's helm, came the hiss of two guns charging. Breakdown's optic snapped up to Nemesis Prime and, with a savageness, lunged into Nemesis. Nemesis' guns fired over Breakdown's helm, but he ignored it, for he always fought best when he was  _mad_.

Breakdown smashed one hammer into the helm of Nemesis Prime, then the other straight into the midsection of the machine. Nemesis Prime stumbled from Breakdown's attack, which only encouraged Breakdown to strike more.

_Silas only knows the fighting style of the Autobots, so it's time to think like a Decepticon again._

Nemesis Prime lunged for Breakdown, who dodged sideways, catching the machine off guard as he fired his gun at its back. Silas wheeled around on him, but Breakdown had already moved again, this time punching Nemesis Prime under the chin. The machine flew backwards, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

Growling, Breakdown moved up on his enemy, aimed his gun and-

Pain blazed through Breakdown's midsection, agony tearing from his mouth as he stumbled backwards. Slowly, disbelievingly Breakdown stared down at his wound, which was a huge, gaping hole in his side.

"Hmph. You thought you could out duel me, didn't you? Well, that was your  _last_ mistake!" Silas screamed then, without giving a chance for Breakdown to react, shot him in the chestplate.

Stunned, Breakdown's chassis quivered, the pain so endless that his entire being was unable to think, to move, to… fight…

Blackness swamped Breakdown's vision and, with an unceremonious crash, the large mech crashed to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

The reverberating beat of helicopter blades woke Breakdown. Dully, he rose to his pedes, servo pressing against his wound as a rush of pain hit his processor. Breakdown stumbled backwards and hit into one of the silos behind him, a gasp of pain escaping from his mouth.

His legs shook unsteadily, and he had to steady himself with a servo pressed against the silo. Waves of pain kept stabbing into his processor, and it was all he could do to stay awake.

"Breakdown! Hey, Arcee, get over here!" Bulkhead's voice was distant to Breakdown, but Bulkhead's heavy servo grabbed onto Breakdown's arm.

Breakdown turned his helm towards Bulkhead. "Bulk?"

Bulkhead's optics, for a strange reason, shone with utter surprise but, before Breakdown could ask  _why_ , he collapsed against Bulkhead and fell back into the dark swap of stasis.

* * *

The first thing Breakdown woke to was Bulkhead and Ratchet watching over him nervously.

"What happened?" Breakdown asked, biting back a cry of pain as he attempted to get up, though Ratchet stopped him with a firm press of his servo. Ratchet shook his helm at Breakdown, who vented tiredly and turned away from the medic.

"You fought Nemesis Prime," Bulkhead explained, "but he hit you pretty bad. Ratchet got you fixed up though." Breakdown glanced towards Bulkhead curiously. For some reason the former Wrecker looked, well, almost happy, his optics light and chassis lax without tension.

_What's up with him?_ Breakdown wondered, before another thought overtook his mind.

"Ratchet, what happened to Nemesis Prime? And Silas?"

"Well, Breakdown, we aren't sure. Optimus fought Nemesis Prime until he crashed through the roof of the silo Silas was in, and apparently crushed him. Except for the fact that none of Fowler's men could find Silas' body.

"So, no one knows…"


	17. Chapter 17

"As Optimus is busy dealing with the human military, he has assigned me to take command of operations at our base. For now," Ratchet explained, his gaze turning to Breakdown, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee respectively.

"So, what can we not do?" Bulkhead asked, his gaze turning to Miko, who was watching the group with utter excitement crossing over her face.

Ratchet growled something to himself quietly, then rolled his optics. "Really, Bulkhead?  _That_ is the first thing you need to know?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess…" Bulkhead muttered, the embarrassment in his optics making Breakdown snicker. Bulkhead shot Breakdown a moody glare, who only shrugged nonchalantly at the green mech.

"Fine, Bulkhead. The only thing I don't want you doing is something stupid-"

"Uh, Ratchet, stupid is Bulkhead. Saying he can't do something stupid is like saying Miko can't be annoying," Breakdown interrupted, shooting Bulkhead a smug look as the former Wrecker's mouth fell open in shock and anger.

"Why, you-"

"Bulkhead.  _Enough_. Optimus why do you do this to me," Ratchet muttered, turning away from the mechs standing behind him with a disgruntled snort. "Do what you want."

"Yes!" Bulkhead and Miko yelled at the same time, the young human running down the platform stairs to skid to a stop next to Bulkhead. Before Bulkhead could transform into his alt mode, Breakdown moved up to the former Wrecker, which drew both Miko and Bulkhead's attention to him.

"Hey! What do you want?" Miko asked, while Bulkhead watched Breakdown unhappily.

"Can I come with you guys?" Breakdown asked, his helm tilting curiously at the surprised glances Miko and Bulkhead shot each other.

"Uh, why not?" Miko said, though Bulkhead looked about to protest. Breakdown grinned smugly at Bulkhead, who pouted sourly then switched to his alt mode. Miko gave Breakdown an apologetic look before leaping into Bulkhead. Breakdown transformed into his alt mode, moving up beside Bulkhead, who immediately set off, leaving behind a spray of exhaust that covered Breakdown as Bulkhead raced out the entrance tunnel.

Breakdown grumbled to himself then charged after Bulkhead, easily catching up to the green mech as they passed out of the entrance tunnel from the base.

It was nearly night, the sky shifting from a muted rainbow of colors to a dark blue, almost black color, as Breakdown and Bulkhead drove silently down the road. Breakdown did not strike up any kind of conversation with Bulkhead as he was enjoying just being out, away from the base and away from the constant, never ending struggle of everyday life with the Autobots.

Being a Decepticon for ages, Breakdown had never really had the chance to just go out, without a goal, or mission, influencing his actions, so he would not be foolish to turn down the opportunity to go out. Even if it meant going with Bulkhead and Miko.

_You win some, you lose some_ , Breakdown thought.

The sudden crackle of his comms turning on caused Breakdown to almost swerve sideways until he realized that it was just Bulkhead contacting him.

"Hey, Breakdown, want to try something fun?" Miko asked, her excitement obvious even over the comms.

"No," Breakdown said cooly.

"Aw come on! You came out with us, so you gotta be like us!" Miko yelled, making Breakdown wince at her obnoxiously high-pitched voice.  _I'm beginning to regret this._

"I'm fine as is, Miko. You and Bulkhead can go play, I'll just observe."

"Ugh! You are no fun! Have you always been such a party pooper, Breakdown?" Miko whined.

"Uh… What?" Breakdown asked, bewilderment snaking into his spark.

"Ignore him, Miko. Decepticons - even former ones - don't understand jokes, unless those jokes are about betraying each other. So, it's kinda pointless to try with him," Bulkhead growled lowly.

Offended, Breakdown hit his brakes, skidding to a sharp halt along the gray asphalt. Bulkhead screeched to a stop a bit ahead of Breakdown, then drove back over to him.

"You okay?" Miko asked Breakdown as Bulkhead flashed his lights at him curiously.

" _No_."

"Then-" Miko began.

"Shut up, human," Breakdown snarled as he snapped his alt mode into reverse and screeched away from Bulkhead. He hooked a left and drove onto the rough, earthy terrain, slightly thankful for his alt mode's ability to traverse terrain such as this easily. Hearing the angry roar of an engine, Breakdown twisted his mirrors, his engine snarling at the sight of Bulkhead chasing after him.

"Breakdown, slag it, wait!" Bulkhead roared over the comms.

_Fine_ , Breakdown thought nastily, slamming unannounced onto his brakes. Smoke ripped from his tires as they skidding haphazardly over the rocky ground, finally coming to a stop at the edge of a small hill. Breakdown turned his left mirror and waited for Bulkhead to catch up to him.

Finally, Bulkhead pulled up next to Breakdown, the Autobot's passenger opening up so Miko could climb out of him. Bulkhead transformed out of his alt mode and turned a tempered glare at Breakdown.

"What is wrong with you, Breakdown?" Bulkhead snarled as he stomped up to Breakdown, who was still in his alt mode. "You hurt Miko's feelings-"

_There. That was it._

Snapping out of his alt mode, Breakdown turned on Bulkhead, who had leapt back, startled by Breakdown's reaction.

"What about  _my_ feelings, Bulkhead? Or do you think I don't have any, since I was a Decepticon once?" Breakdown snarled, stomping right up to Bulkhead as he said it.

Bulkhead's optics, for a moment stunned, narrowed as anger flashed through them. "What are you getting at, Breakdown?"

Breakdown threw his servos in the air and released a scoff of disbelief. "Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that I'm tired of the fact that you keep spinning this 'oh, Breakdown is evil, because he was a Decepticon' slag. You, and your Autobot pals, are always spinning this tale of how  _bad_ Decepticons are, but that isn't the whole truth is it?"

"Bulkhead? What's Breakdown meaning?" Miko asked, her optics switching between Breakdown and Bulkhead nervously.

"It's nothing, Miko. Breakdown is just being dramatic," Bulkhead replied cheerily, though his entire chassis was tense.

"Oh, I'm being dramatic, Bulkhead? So is betraying your companion and leaving him for  _dead_ , not dramatic?" Breakdown hissed, his voice rising higher and higher with his temper.

Bulkhead winced, lowering his gaze from Breakdown guiltily. "Breakdown- Please, not with Miko here," Bulkhead begged quietly, which made Breakdown laugh.

"Not with  _Miko_ here? What, you can't handle her knowing what the ' _good guys'_  did?" Breakdown snarled, his gaze snapping to Miko, who was beginning to stare at Bulkhead with an unreadable expression flashing over her faceplate.

"Bulk…"

Bulkhead looked away from Miko and said nothing.

_Coward_ , Breakdown thought, then turned on Miko.

"I remember you asking me why Bulkhead and I  _hate_ each other when I first came to the Autobots, and I guess it is time to tell you," Breakdown snapped, his gaze turning to Bulkhead briefly, but the Autobot did not move in protest.

"Well, I know that Bulkhead has told you all sorts of stories about the Wreckers, right?" Miko nodded. "But I'm guessing he never told you I was one once, did he?"

Miko's shocked look was more than enough of an answer to Breakdown, who couldn't help but let out the most unhappy of laughs.

"Thought so. But, I have a question for you, human. Who do you think was the one whose fault is it that we hate each other? Me or Bulkhead?"

Miko hesitated, then pointed to Breakdown. Breakdown glanced towards Bulkhead, who shifted even further from Breakdown.

"That's rich, isn't it Bulkhead" Breakdown snapped, which made Bulkhead flinch very noticeable. "Well then, you would be surprised to learn that it wasn't me. Bulkhead and his Wrecker pals left me behind on the battlefield, all because I was injured," Breakdown looked towards Bulkhead as he said his next words, "And you did nothing as Sharpclaw ripped me open, Bulkhead.

Bulkhead looked at Breakdown finally. "Breakdown-"

"WHY?! Why did you leave me behind? Do you realize what you did to me when you left me behind? Well?" Breakdown asked, glaring into Bulkhead's optics.

"I…" Bulkhead finished lamely, making Breakdown only snarl even louder.

"You and your Wreckers pals destroyed me.  _That_ is why I told Megatron about the Wreckers' base. I wanted to destroy you, just like you had done to me. I  _trusted_ you, all of you, and you left me behind because I was injured. I thought Wreckers were always supposed to be there for each other," Breakdown said softly, his rage simmering away to be replaced by an eons long sadness. Breakdown fell back, hitting a large rock behind him, and slid down to the ground. His arms fell to his sides, hitting the ground with a soft thud as he tilted his helm up, optic staring into the vastness of the sky.

Breakdown's words echoed at the edge of his processor, but not enough to dull out what he thought next.

_Sometimes I wish I had died on that battlefield. Everything would have been_ simpler  _that way..._

Breakdown was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice as Miko slowly moved up to him, leaping up onto his servo and climbing up his arm. Only the feeling of the soft patter of feet drew Breakdown away from his thoughts and, slowly, he turned his helm to watch as Miko clambered over his shoulder plates.

Miko walked up until she was very close to Breakdown's helm. Breakdown turned his helm until he was staring down at the human, his optics distant.

"What?" He asked, his voice empty of emotion.

Miko said nothing, but she moved suddenly. The little human's arms wrapped over the lower part of Breakdown's faceplate, causing a jolt of panic to shot through Breakdown's chassis. But he didn't move, for the little human, with her arms wrapped so tightly around him, gave him a strange sense of comfort.

Before Breakdown could stop it, his engine let out the softest, quietest purr he'd ever heard. He leaned into the human and shuttered his optics peacefully. He had never experienced affection from anyone, not even his friend Knock Out, and now that he was on the receiving end of it, even from a human, he didn't want her to leave.

_This is wrong… Right? I_ hate  _humans, so why do I not feel hatred for this one? She's annoying but…_ Breakdown thought as he turned his gaze to Bulkhead, who was pacing back and forth angrily.

Breakdown was about to say something to Bulkhead when his scanner suddenly began to give a warning ping. Bulkhead seemed to have picked up whatever Breakdown's scanner was picking up for the green mech snapped his gaze to Breakdown, who gave him a short nod of confirmation.

_I see it too._

"Miko," Bulkhead snapped, which drew the young human's gaze to him "Get over here." Miko obeyed Bulkhead and, with Breakdown picking her and lowering her to the ground, Miko ran up to Bulkhead. Bulkhead pulled Miko into his servo, holding onto her tightly.

"I'll go check it out," Breakdown hissed. Bulkhead nodded and, without a glance back, transformed into his alt mode and drove off.

Pulling up the location of the anomaly, Breakdown switched into his alt mode and drove towards it.

* * *

An hour later and Breakdown still hadn't found whatever had made his scanner - and Bulkhead's, for that matter - activate. And strangely enough, the anomaly had faded away almost immediately after appearing, which was  _odd_.

The signal  _had_ led him into Jasper though, but after that, well, nothing. So he was driving in circles around the town, looking for the anomaly.

_What a waste_ , Breakdown thought as he came to a red light and slowed to a stop. Bored, Breakdown turned his gaze around the intersection, not really paying attention to the assorted group of cars, including a fancy red-

"Knock Out?!" Breakdown gasped as his gaze locked onto the red sports car, edged with gold rims and flame-patterned doors, to the left of him. Knock Out did not notice Breakdown as the Decepticon drove forward with the rest of the cars at his light. Breakdown shuttered his optic then charged into the moving traffic, cutting in front of one small white car, who honked at him indignantly, before he charged after Knock Out.

Knock Out took a right onto a road that led out of Jasper, which Breakdown took too. Breakdown passed one more car, rushing past it on its left, catching up to Knock Out, and letting out a threatening growl from his engine.

Knock Out's first reaction was to swerve to the right, sending sprays of dust up from his wheels before Knock Out drove back onto the highway, amidst honks of protest from the drivers behind them.

"Breakdown?" Knock Out gasped, though he covered it up with a furious growl.

"Pull off here," Breakdown warned, bursting in front of Knock Out, then taking a sharp right onto a dirt road off the highway. Breakdown came to a halt, mirrors turning to watch as Knock Out slowly, hesitantly drove onto the dirt road. Knock Out pulled up beside Breakdown, who only afforded him a tight growl, before driving further down the dirt road.

Knock Out roared up beside him, but said nothing to Breakdown until they reached the end of the dirt road, which halted at the edge of a mesa.

Breakdown wheeled on Knock Out, switching out of his alt mode as Knock Out did the same.

"What are you doing here, Knock Out?" Breakdown snarled, stomping up to the Decepticon medic, who was watching him warily.

"Out for a drive," Knock Out replied tartly, which only made Breakdown tenser.

"Whatever," Breakdown snapped, turning away from his former friend without another word. Knock Out didn't say anything either, though Breakdown could hear the medic shifting on his pedes beside him.

"Why did you leave?" Knock Out's question broke the silence between them, only mildly surprising Breakdown.  _Knock Out has never been one to skirt the hard stuff._

Breakdown turned his optic to Knock Out, who had crossed his arms over his red chestplate, then vented. "You should know. I would have imagined Megatron would have told you guys. He isn't one to avoid smearing one's dirty mesh to others, especially if it concerns one of his own defecting."

"That wasn't what I was meaning. I want to know why you never came back that day you went to help Starscream, and why Megatron has ordered any Decepticon who sees you to kill you on sight. He also said that you joined the Autobots? I highly doubt that," Knock Out scoffed, though Breakdown could tell the medic didn't really believe his own words.

"Well, one thing Megatron did get right is that I joined the Autobots, even if I haven't been accepted as one yet." Knock Out didn't look surprised, though his red optics did seem oddly guarded. "And, if you really want to know, I left because I felt that I was worthless to the cause. Megatron didn't send any troops to save me when I got captured by MECH, and he definitely wasn't going to help me when a cave-in happened after I stumbled across him trying to kill Starscream, because he knew I came there to help Starscream - not that I knew Megatron was trying to kill him."

Breakdown looked away from Knock Out, and let out a heavy vent.

"You wouldn't understand. No one has ever let  _you_ be dissected by humans, to only be rescued by your sworn enemies. It messes you up, Knock Out, it really does."

Silence spread between them once again, though this time it was less tense, yet heavy with unsaid words.

"I'm sorry, Breakdown."

Knock Out's words snapped Breakdown's gaze to the medic, who had his helm tilted up to the sky wordlessly.

"For what?" Breakdown asked warily, watching as Knock Out turned his right optic in Breakdown's direction.

"For not going to save you. Starscream told me about the disappearance of your signal that day, but I did nothing. I was to fearful of what Megatron would do to me if I went behind his back to save you. I was a…  _coward_ , and I left Starscream to save you alone," Knock Out admitted, his tone cold as he gave Breakdown an unreadable look.

Breakdown moved away from Knock Out, saying nothing to the medic for a few moments. Knock Out moved a little closer to Breakdown, but a snarl from Breakdown's engine made the Decepticon back away from him.

"I'm not surprised, Knock Out," Breakdown growled, "And I don't actually care at this point. I gave up on being angry with you and with caring about anything you ever said to me after that day. You acted like you cared when I came back, but it isn't like you went looking for me on the  _Nemesis_ to see how I was doing."

Knock Out tightened his arms over his chestplate as Breakdown turned a frosty glare on him.

"We aren't friends, Knock Out, and we never will be again. You are a Decepticon and I'm with the Autobots, we're sworn enemies by that alone. And don't think I didn't notice you already have a new  _bodyguard_ running around with you on missions."

"You mean Razortalon? She's… She isn't that. She's just a wacko scientist who Megatron scrounged up somewhere. She's nuts. She's brought home humans bodies and dissected them, just to see what makes them run. Even for me it was weird to see. Razortalon was with me only for that mission because Megatron wanted her to keep an optic on me," Knock Out snape grudgingly, his mouth tightening into a deep frown.

"Why?" Breakdown asked, tilting an optic ridge at Knock Out, who gave him a lifeless shrug.

"Because Megatron thinks I'm going to go crazy and betray the Decepticons, like you did. He thinks, because you and I were friends that I would follow in your footsteps soon after. But I can't… I don't want to be on the run again, away from the ease of luxury inside the  _Nemesis_ , and I definitely don't want to be one of the outnumbered fool Autobots," Knock Out said, before he turned his back on Breakdown and began to walk away.

Breakdown turned and watched as Knock Out moved further away from him, saying nothing to the medic.

Knock Out stopped then, slowly, turned around to glance at Breakdown. Breakdown waited but the Decepticon said nothing before he transformed back into his alt mode and raced away, down the dirt road with a trail of dust following him.

_Goodbye Knock Out…_

Breakdown vented once then, turning the opposite direction of Knock Out, transformed into his alt mode and drove away, headed back to his home.

With the Autobots.

* * *

"Did you find the anomaly?" Bulkhead asked the moment Breakdown drove into the Autobot base and transformed out of his alt mode. Breakdown turned his gaze to Bulkhead then shook his helm.

"No, I didn't find anything. It might have just been an anomaly, nothing more," Breakdown said, keeping his tone level as he walked past Bulkhead.

"Well, that's good," Bulkhead said cheerily behind Breakdown. Breakdown turned his helm too Bulkhead and nodded.

"Yeah."

Breakdown walked away from Bulkhead before the Autobot could ask anymore questions about what had - not, at least that's what Bulkhead thought - found. As he was heading to his quarters he spotted Miko and Jack, both of them playing something on their entertainment console. Breakdown, curious, walked up behind the two, though they did not notice him.

The two humans were playing a racing game and, by the way Miko was exclaiming, it sounded like Miko was winning. The game lasted only a few more moments and, with a shout of joy, Miko threw her controller on the couch and pumped her fist.

"Yeah, yeah, Miko, whatever," Jack said sourly, his tone make Breakdown laugh, which snapped both of the humans' gazes to him.

"Oh, hey Breakdown," Miko said nonchalantly, her optics glowing as she turned a smug glance once more to Jack, who had waved at Breakdown. Breakdown nodded to Jack, and watched as Miko turned to Jack once again.

"Want to go again?" She asked Jack, who vehemently shook his helm. "Aww, come on you baby-"

"I'll play," Breakdown said, a laugh almost escaping him again at the priceless expressions on the humans' faceplates.

"What? Afraid you'll lose, Miko? Come on, let's see."


	18. Chapter 18

Optimus and the Autobots had only just returned from their mission to find and destroy the  _Nemesis_ and all of the Decepticons inside it. And _,_ predictably, Breakdown hadn't been allowed to go on  _that_ particular mission. Something about it being unsafe for a former Decepticon to go aboard the ship, though Breakdown knew the real reason was because, deep down, the Autobots still didn't trust him - especially if it had to do with actually going to his old base.

Ratchet walked up to the HUDs, plugging in a USB device which brought up four sets of coordinates.

"The download of the Iacon database may have been incomplete, but we now possess four sets of coordinates decoded by the ship," he explained.

"Then we must act quickly, for Megatron possesses the same four sets. And he will not hesitate to obtain the potential doomsday devices which lie at the site of each," Optimus growled, "If we are to have any hope of recovering the Iacon relics before the Decepticons do, we must divide our resources."

"But Optimus, when it comes to numbers we are already at a grave disadvantage," Ratchet said.

_Not that it seems to make any difference,_ Breakdown thought, thinking to how easily the Autobots always seemed to defeat Megatron's forces - including two of the most deadly Decepticons, Makeshift and Skyquake.

"Under the circumstances, swiftness of action is paramount. This is one race that we absolutely cannot afford to lose."

Ratchet's attention suddenly turned away from Optimus, locking onto the HUDs, which had begun to track something across the screen.

"Well, here's a twist," Ratchet muttered, "The Decepticons have retreated from Manhattan."

"They just, up and left?" Arcee questioned.

"It is more likely that Megatron has set course for the second set of coordinates. Having already dispatched a unit to this relic's underground location," Optimus mused, turning to watch the HUDs.

"Without busting up a city block to it?" Arcee asked disbelievingly.

"Decepticons don't  _destroy_ everything they touch, Arcee," Breakdown snapped, more to himself than any of the others in the base.

"They used the subway tunnels," Jack realized, "New York has a whole network of them running beneath the city."

"Since the human population no longer seems to be directly threatened, maintaining our disguise will be necessary," Prime said, turning his helm down to Arcee and Bumblebee, "Arcee, Bumblebee, you are the best choices to navigate through such a densely populated area."

"Optimus, New York has more than eight million people. The odds of being spotted by at least one of them are pretty high. Even if they are headed underground," Jack informed the Autobot leader, his gaze unwavering as Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead all turned to glance towards him.

"Where are you going with this?" Arcee asked her human, servos placed firmly on her hip plates.

"You are going to need a face man. Someone who can speak on their behalf, a human who can run interference if their cover gets blown," Jack said, met only by the hard stare of the Prime. Miko rushed forward, up to Jack and looked up at Optimus.

"Well, I have actually been in subways stations. I grew up in a major metropolis. Unlike mister 'I've Never Been Outside Jasper, Nevada'," Miko mocked, before crossing her arms over her chest.

"I have been to Cybertron," Jack replied back to her.

"Cybertron doesn't have subways! Does it?" Miko asked, tilting her helm towards the Autobots and Breakdown, who was just about done with the whole lot of them.

"Agent Fowler," Optimus said, turning to the unconscious human they had brought back from their mission aboard the  _Nemesis_ , "has experience in the field, thus making him our best candidate."

"If he weren't still recovering from his encounter with the Decepticon warship," Ratchet said, his gaze turning back to Optimus with the faintest look of annoyance.

"Which  _we_  survived," Miko began, pointing to herself. But Breakdown was tired of this, so he interrupted her with a sharp growl from his engine, snapping every optic to him.

"Why are you wasting time discussing such useless scrap? If these 'doomsday devices' matter so much to you, then I suggest that we get to the part where we all go on our merry way to find them, with or without the humans."

"Very well," Optimus said unhappily, turning away from Breakdown to look down at Arcee and Bumblebee. "Jack and Miko will accompany you. Ratchet, triangulate the coordinates and prepare transportation for all locations."

Ratchet gave a nod of acknowledgment to Optimus, then activated the Ground Bridge for Arcee and Bumblebee. Both mechs nodded to Optimus then, with Jack and Miko, raced off into the Ground Bridge.

Optimus turned to Bulkhead, who straightened up his stance at the gaze of his leader.

"Bulkhead, you will go here, at the Equator," Optimus said, pointing the set of coordinates located somewhere in Central America, "Breakdown will accompany you on this mission."

Bulkhead looked about to protest, but a swift glare from both Ratchet and Optimus, gave up. Breakdown walked up beside Bulkhead, hiding his displeasure at working with Bulkhead, as Ratchet reactivated the Ground Bridge for them.

"Be on your guard, you two," Optimus said as Bulkhead and Breakdown began to move towards the Ground Bridge.

"Will do Optimus," Bulkhead said, then turned and ran into the Ground Bridge. Breakdown rolled his optic and followed after the Autobot.

* * *

The Ground Bridge opened up onto a the hard lava of a volcano.

"Oh, ew!" Bulkhead complained, waving a servo in front of his faceplate at the - admittedly - disgusting smell wafting from the volcano. "It's worse than the Decepticon barracks!"

"Have you ever  _been_ in one, Bulkhead?" Breakdown snapped, moving away from him before Bulkhead could answer.

"Hey, we  _are_ supposed to stick together," Bulkhead protested snappishly, running up to Breakdown on his right side, which made it even easier for Breakdown to ignore Bulkhead.

"Whatever."

Breakdown's noncommittal answer drew a frustrated grumble from Bulkhead, before the former Wrecker turned his attention elsewhere.

"A volcano sure is an odd place for an ancient relic," Bulkhead stated, which Breakdown didn't say anything to before he began walking down the hardened lava.

Bulkhead followed after Breakdown, the heavy clank of each one of his pede steps echoing off of the volcano's rocky surface. Nothing was picking up on Breakdown's scanner so he could only assume that the relic was somewhere further down the mountain. But Bulkhead didn't seem to come to that conclusion as he let out a frustrated growl before contacting base.

"Base, I can't find any sign of the relic, can you reconfirm coordinates?" Bulkhead grumbled, growing silent as base obviously replied back to him.

"Then the coordinates are wrong, 'cause there's nothing here!" The green mech snarled, wiping dust from his servos as he clambered up the lava behind Breakdown.

"Have you ever tried shutting up and just looking?" Breakdown snapped back at Bulkhead, who gave him a glare.

"Well-"

Breakdown shushed Bulkhead, pointing up to the sky as a steady beating sound, like metallic wings, grew louder - and closer. Bulkhead glanced at Breakdown, then activated his guns, pointing them into the sky as the sound grew closer.

"What are you doing?" Breakdown snapped as he activated his shoulder cannon, waiting for the incoming threat.

Bulkhead wheeled his gaze to Breakdown but, before he could say anything, a large Insecticon came charging towards them. Bulkhead let out a roar and began to fire at the Insecticon, but the huge being did not seem to be affected by his blasts and smashed right into Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead!" Breakdown shouted, his cannon firing at the Insecticon as it hooked its pincers into Bulkhead and began to fly away with him. But, just like with Bulkhead's shots, none of Breakdown's seemed to affect the large beast.

_Great_ , Breakdown thought before he transformed into his alt mode and raced after Bulkhead and the Insecticon, still shooting at it with his cannon. The Insecticon suddenly transformed - its insect-like body changing into a bipedal form, sort of like a normal Cybertronian - then threw Bulkhead away from itself.

Bulkhead crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, the Insecticon landing in front of him. The Insecticon raised one of its claws towards Bulkhead but, with the entire side of Breakdown's alt mode, he smashed into the Insecticon, sending it flying against a hard spire of lava.

Breakdown pulled Bulkhead up, then turned back to the Insecticon, who had recovered quickly and was stomping towards them.

"Leave it to Megatron to send a  _bug_ to do his dirty work," Bulkhead growled, servos tightening as the Insecticon paced up to them.

"You know a thing or two about dirty work yourself,  _Wrecker_ ," the Insecticon hissed, claws clicking as it paced around Breakdown and Bulkhead, both of whom were doing the same.

"Do I know you?" Bulkhead asked the Insecticon, anger narrowing his optics and tightening his chassis.

"I know you're kind, as I have crushed more than a few Wreckers in my time," the Insecticon snarled back, mandibles clicking furiously. Its gaze suddenly snapped to Breakdown, who tensed up with a low growl. "And you, Megatron told me of your betrayal. Killing you, and the Wrecker, will do more than enough to get into the good graces of my master."

"You can try," Breakdown hissed, which made the Insecticon clack its jaws together creepily.

"You know, the thing about bugs your size? They make a bigger mess when I smash them!" Bulkhead roared, snapping his servos into their mace mode, and charged towards the Insecticon.

"Bulkhead!" Breakdown warned, but the Autobot did not listen as he smashed one of his servos into the Insecticon's side, making it stumble only slightly, before he lunged for the Insecticon again. But the Insecticon had anticipated Bulkhead's move and snatched Bulkhead's mace in one servo, jaw clicking.

Bulkhead tried to pull out of the Insecticon's grasp, but he could not move for the strength of it. The Insecticon raised its free servo up, claws snapping open and drove them towards Bulkhead-

Breakdown moved before he could even think, barreling straight into Bulkhead, which snapped the green mech's servo out of the Insecticon's grasp. But the Insecticon's claws drove instead into Breakdown's chassis, slicing upwards before Breakdown could process the pain.

Breakdown switched his servo into a hammer and smashed it into the Insecticon's stomach plates, the beast stumbling away from Breakdown, but only for the briefest of moments. Pain scorched through Breakdown, but he ignored it.

The Insecticon lunged back towards Breakdown, slashing down at Breakdown with its sharp claws before he could jump aside, leaving a long furrow of torn metal in Breakdown's chestplate. Breakdown snarled and smashed his shoulder into the Insecticon's chestplate, pushing it back with a strained roar. The Insecticon countered, driving its long pincers into Breakdown's past.

Breakdown cried out as the Insecticon switched into its alternate bug form, its pincers still hooked into Breakdown's back, and began to fly. Suddenly, before the Insecticon could get much higher in the air it let out a screech of pain and fell, landing on top of Breakdown, who bit back another shriek of pain as the Insecticon's heavy body began to crush him into the hardened lava.

Suddenly the Insecticon's weight vanished from Breakdown, who hastily scrambled up to his pedes in time to see the Insecticon get hit with a powerful uppercut from Bulkhead. The Insecticon was thrown backward, one of its mandibles breaking from its helm, and crashed down onto the dry lava.

Bulkhead snarled at the Insecticon then moved over to Breakdown, helping him up to his pedes.

"Thanks," Breakdown said, wincing as another roll of pain washed over his chassis. Bulkhead nodded then turned his gaze towards the waves of hardened lava that led down from the volcano.

"Let's go," Bulkhead said, transforming and driving away, over the lava. Breakdown waited for a moment glancing towards the unmoving Insecticon then switched into his alt mode and moved after Bulkhead.

Pain made Breakdown's move sluggishly, making it seem like he was driving into water, not over hard packed lava. Bulkhead didn't seem to notice the fact that Breakdown was lagging behind, and when Breakdown tried to contact him he only got the message that Bulkhead's comms were busy.

Venting, Breakdown continued to follow after Bulkhead, and it was all he could do to not fall victim to the pain storming through his body.

Breakdown finally caught up to Bulkhead, but only because the Autobot had pulled to a stop and was walking towards a large white-and-teal container stuck in a mound of dry lava. Pulling to a halt, Breakdown switched out of his alt mode and came up beside Bulkhead, just as he popped the lid off of the container.

Bulkhead peered into the container then, ominously, said, "Oh, no…"

"What?" Breakdown asked, worriedly glancing towards Bulkhead as the green mech shifted away from the container, a stricken, haunting look evident in his optics. Bulkhead turned to Breakdown then switched to his comms so Breakdown could hear the response from the Autobot base.

"Base, we have a problem."

" _Bulkhead, what is it?"_ Fowler asked over the comms.

"I found the relic, its a cache of energon."

" _That's good, right?"_

"No, no, no," Bulkhead said, still backing away from the container, "It's known as Tox-en."

"WHAT?!" Breakdown whirled his gaze on Bulkhead, then swiftly backed away from the container, which had begun to leak noxious green fumes.

Bulkhead nodded, then turned back to his comms. "It causes nausea and dizziness on contact, prolonged contact can lead to paralysis. And then, it snuffs out our sparks."

" _Well, what are you talking to me for? Get far away from that Tox-en, pronto! If it is as deadly as they say, the 'Cons don't want it either,"_ Fowler suggested, which Bulkhead stopped with a sharp no.

"They will want it even more, during the War for Cybertron, Megatron figured out a way to refine Tox-en and turn it into a weapon of mass destruction. I witnessed an entire unit wiped out by the sickness, no way I can leave this stuff for the 'Cons to find and abuse."

" _So bring it back here! Raf, open a Ground Bridge!"_

"Forget it! Even if we had a safe place to store it, the stuff is way too potent to risk exposing to the rest of us-"

Bulkhead stopped, helm snapping up as a distant beating sound became obvious. "I'll call you back." Bulkhead cut the communications with a hiss of static then turned to Breakdown.

"We need to take care of this," Bulkhead pointed to the still leaking Tox-en, before pulling out a small grenade from his subspace, "Wrecker style."

Bulkhead bent down to the container and plucked out a large portion of the Tox-en.

"What are you doing, Bulkhead?" Breakdown asked, stepping away from Bulkhead as the Autobot placed the chunk of Tox-en on the ground near the container.

"We're going to blow this sucker up, but my grenade isn't going to be enough to blow all of the Tox-en up," Bulkhead said as he activated a set timer on the grenade and buried it in the container, "So, we are going to have to carry it up to the volcano."

"Are you NUTS? This is Tox-en we are dealing with here, Bulkhead," Breakdown snapped, pointing to the large chunk of Tox-en Bulkhead had pulled from the container, "I am  _not_ going anywhere near  _that_ stuff."

Bulkhead screwed the container's lid back on, then gave Breakdown a stony glare as he picked up the piece of Tox-en. Bulkhead said nothing to Breakdown as he began to head up the lava flow leading up to the volcano rim. Breakdown hesitated, actually contemplating asking for a Ground Bridge, but… He would not abandon Bulkhead. He may still have hated Bulkhead, but not enough to make him go up a volcano with the imminent threat of Tox-en and the Insecticons.

Breakdown began to run after Bulkhead, starling at the sound of Fowler comming back in.

" _Bulkhead, what is your status?"_ The human asked.

"This is Breakdown, we're fine," Breakdown lied, as he was still hurting from the Insecticon given wounds, "Bulkhead decided to carry the rest of the Tox-en that he couldn't blow up to the volcano rim."

" _What? You're carrying it? I thought you said that stuff was toxic!"_

"It is," Bulkhead budged in, "but I needed to put some distance between me and the bugs."

" _Well,"_ Fowler questioned, " _what now?"_

"As Breakdown said, I'm gonna lob it into the volcano."

" _But what about your bug problem?"_

"This isn't my first time alluding an enemy patrol, you know."

After a few moments, in which Bulkhead and Breakdown continued on their path still, Fowler's voice came through the comms again.

" _Wait… You're going_ away  _from the volcano?"_

"Exactly," Bulkhead affirmed, then cut the comms from the Autobot base. Bulkhead pulled to a stop, then shifted his gaze to Breakdown, who backed away from him warily.

"I'm gonna drive the rest of the way, so I need you to put the Tox-en on my roof once I'm ready," Bulkhead ordered, and promptly dropped the noxious energon into Breakdown's servos. Breakdown turned away from the Tox-en, unable to hide the shudders that tore through his chassis.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Bulkhead had transformed into his alt mode and, hurriedly, Breakdown tied down the Tox-en onto Bulkhead's roof, relieved to not be touching the Tox-en anymore.

"Let's go," Bulkhead said, then began the drive up the volcano.

* * *

Both Breakdown and Bulkhead were struggling at this point, Breakdown from his wounds and Bulkhead from the Tox-en. But they both kept going up the volcano, tough Bulkhead had been chatting with Agent Fowler the whole time.

It was tiresome at this point.

" _So you left a false trail, huh? I once played that trick when I got separated from my unit behind enemy lines,"_ Fowler quipped over the comms, which only served to make Bulkhead let out a short laugh and Breakdown grumple with irritation.

"Since when we you ever behind enemy lines?" Bulkhead asked mockingly.

" _I wasn't always a 'Bot sitter,"_ Fowler replied.

"Hmph, next you are going to tell me that your mother doesn't tuck you in at night."

" _Not since basic training."_

"Training as what?" Bulkhead asked as he and Breakdown continued the slow climb up the hardened lava. "A rodeo clown?"

_You've been spending way too much time at monster truck rallies with Miko. I was an Army Ranger, we could wreck with the best of them."_

"Who knew you and I were so much alike?" Bulkhead coughed.

" _Standby Bulkhead, I'll be right back."_ Breakdown was relieved to hear only static from the human's side of the comms, though he didn't admit that to Bulkhead.

The pair drove until they reached a large hill, Bulkhead coming to a labrous stop at the bottom. Breakdown pulled up beside him, saying nothing as Bulkhead breathed heavily.

"I'm… gonna get a running start on this hill," Bulkhead wheezed, backing up from the hill then, with a spin of his tires, drove for the hill. Breakdown watched as Bulkhead nearly got to the top, tires spinning and slipping as the Autobot attempted to reach the top. But Bulkhead was not able to and, with a futile transformation, Bulkhead slid down the hill, the Tox-en sliding down beside him.

Breakdown caught Bulkhead before the green mech could fall any further down the hill. Bulkhead shook Breakdown off of him, then picked up the Tox-en once again. This time, Bulkhead do not try to drive up the hill, but slowly walked up it, Breakdown following behind the green mech.

"Almost there," Bulkhead said, looking up at the volcano.

"Not really," Breakdown snapped, which drew a frustrated look from Bulkhead.

"Don't need... to be so... snappish, Breakdown," Bulkhead muttered, Breakdown ignoring him pointedly.

" _Bulkhead, how you holding up?"_ Fowler suddenly asked over their comms, his concern for Bulkhead making Breakdown even more irritated than he already was.

"Eh, any… word… from Miko?" Bulkhead asked slowly, each one of his words punctuated by a wheeze.

" _Don't worry about her. You need to focus on your own mission,"_ Fowler snapped brusquely.

"Right… I need to rest for just one… minute," Bulkhead said.

" _I know it's tough, but you need to hang in there."_

Bulkhead suddenly tripped, collapsing to the ground but, before Breakdown could even move, Bulkhead was already getting up.

But that was a bad decision on Bulkhead's part as, with a tired, weary groan, Bulkhead fell back, his back hitting a large rock with a thud, the Tox-en falling from his servo.

"Bulkhead!" Concerned, Breakdown moved up to Bulkhead. The former Wrecker did not respond, his optics distant and weary.

" _Bulkhead? Bulkhead? BULKHEAD! Answer me!"_ Fowler shouted over the comms, his voice rising more frantically each time Bulkhead did not respond to him.

"I'm here... " Bulkhead said.

" _You had me scared, two-ton,"_ Fowler breathed.

"Get up, Bulkhead. We have to get rid of the Tox-en," Breakdown growled, attempting to lift Bulkhead to his pedes, but Bulkhead refused to budge, "What is wrong with you?"

"I can't do it…" Bulkhead admitted, pulling away from Breakdown with utter disinterest.

" _I do not want to hear that kind of talk especially from you! We both know you have made it through worse,"_ Fowler urged.

"Nah, not worse, not even scraplets," Bulkhead said back to Fowler.

"Oh, stop moping and  _move_ , Bulkhead," Breakdown snapped as he glared down at the Autobot, "Or do I have to Miko that you gave up because you felt  _bad_?"

Something seemed to snap in Bulkhead at Breakdown's words for the mech began to struggle to his pedes. Breakdown grabbed Bulkhead's servo and yanked him to his pedes, ignoring the way his wounds shrieked in protest at the quick, jerking motion. Bulkhead's pedes thudded to the ground and, if not for Breakdown holding him steady, Bulkhead would have collapsed once more.

"I'm up," Bulkhead said quietly.

" _Good job, soldier,"_ Fowler said softly, approval evident in his voice.

Bulkhead bent to grab the Tox-en but Breakdown stopped him with a glare.

"I'll get it," Breakdown said as he snatched up the toxic energon, then turned to stare at the volcano rim, "Come on. Those Insecticons won't be tricked forever by our fake trail. And I'm not leaving you behind."

Bulkhead whipped a surprised glance to Breakdown, mouth opening and closing without sound.

"What? I don't want to face the Insecticons alone."

Bulkhead gave Breakdown a stiff nod then, with Breakdown moving first, they once again, headed towards the volcano.

* * *

A wave of blistering heat hit Breakdown as he and Bulkhead crested the rim of the volcano, a hard caking of lava highlighted by stripes of molten lava. Breakdown turned to Bulkhead, who was panting heavily even though he wasn't holding the Tox-en anymore, then began walking towards a hissing hole in the lava.

"Wrecker!"

Breakdown and Bulkhead both snapped their gazes upwards, Breakdown tensing as the Insecticon from before landed in front of the lava hole, transforming out of his alt mode.

"Put down the rock. And allow  _us_ to put you out of your misery," the Insecticon snarled, a toothy smile cracking over its faceplate as two more Insecticons leapt over the rim of the volcano.

"Gotta swat some flies," Bulkhead growled, shifting closer to Breakdown, as he pulled out a grenade and threw it at the feet of one of the Insecticons. The Insecticon stared dumbfounded at the grenade, then was sent flying against the volcano rim by the blast from the grenade.

Breakdown threw aside the Tox-en - Bulkhead caught it with a surprised grunt - as the leader of the Insecticons' rushed towards him, pincer arms snapping. Though he was weary from his wounds and the contact with the Tox-en, Breakdown knew he had to fight.

For this battle was not just some meaningless battle about revenge, but for his - and Bulkhead's - lives.

The Insecticon smashed into Breakdown, claws tearing at him wildly, ripping into his chassis, Breakdown pushed back-

Suddenly the Insecticon fled back from Breakdown, a racking cough escaping from it as flickers of noxious green gas flowed past it. Breakdown snapped his gaze around, nodding to Bulkhead, who had pressed the Tox-en he was holding against the Insecticon. The Insecticon began to prowl around Breakdown and Bulkhead. The other Insecticon leapt down, stalking towards Bulkhead, who wheeled about on it and smashed it under the jaw, sending it crashing to the ground.

The main Insecticon glanced towards its companion, who Bulkhead had just placed the Tox-en on, then turned its gaze back to Breakdown and Bulkhead.

All three mechs circled around each other, none wanting to be the first to act.

" _Bulkhead! Are you still with me?"_ Fowler's voice interrupted Bulkhead's pacing and Breakdown snapped his gaze away from the Insecticon for a moment, then snapped it back to the beast.

"I'm in the scrap and you put me on hold?" Bulkhead teased lightly, once again pacing against the Insecticon.

" _I want you to know, Miko is safe. Mission accomplished-"_

"Well, minus the Insecticon we're fighting, but that doesn't matter," Breakdown snipped, which elicited a spat of mutters from Agent Fowler.

The Insecticon roared suddenly and charged, but met the combined force of both Breakdown and Bulkhead punching it in the stomach. The Insecticon stumbled back, but recovered quickly, punching Bulkhead away from it as its pincer claws slashed into Breakdown, tearing long stripes of metal from his chestplate and arms.

Breakdown stumbled back, glancing up in time to see the second Insecticon slowly push the Tox-en off its chestplate, but collapsed ack onto the ground.

The Insecticon fighting Bulkhead wheeled its gaze on the other Insecticon, a flash of worry racing through his red visor. "Scurrydown, contact the warship to prepare for a containment unit." The Insecticon was so focused on its companion that it did not see Bulkhead approaching it until Bulkhead was already in mid-punch. But Bulkhead's punch did nothing as the Insecticon just punched Bulkhead back, sending the former Wrecker crashing to the ground.

Breakdown moved in front of Bulkhead, but the Insecticon threw him away from it. Breakdown crashed into the ground a ways from Bulkhead and the lead Insecticon, weakly raising himself to his pedes to see Bulkhead grab onto the helm of the Insecticon and threw it close to the hole in the volcanic layer.

Bulkhead walked up to the Insecticon then pressed its helm against something, the Insecticon letting out a pained shriek. Breakdown stayed where he was, keeping his optic on the other Insecticon, who still hadn't moved.

"You want a taste of this?" Bulkhead growled, "Do ya?" Bulkhead pulled the Insecticon up onto its pedes, then smashed it backwards with his mace. The Insecticon stumbled back and Bulkhead hit it again.

This time though, the Insecticon was hovering right in front of the hole in the volcano, and it seemed like it didn't realize. The Insecticon shook its helm, then snapped its gaze up to Bulkhead.

"Catch!" Bulkhead yelled, throwing the Tox-en straight into the Inseticon's chest. The Insecticon stumbled back, then fell into the pit, its screams echoing all the down the hole. Bulkhead walked up to the hole and glared down into it.

Bulkhead turned away from the pit, heading towards Breakdown as he commed Fowler. "Fowler, mission accomplished. But you may have to tuck me in."

Breakdown rolled his optic and turned as a Ground Bridge opened up to his right. Breakdown gave one swift glare to the still unmoving Insecticon then turned to walk into the Ground Bridge. But something stopped him. Some odd feeling.

His gaze snapped to the hole in the volcano where the Insecticon had fallen, and to his horror a molten red Insecticon slowly rose from the pit, jaw hanging half open as it raised one of its arms up towards Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead! Run!" Breakdown shouted but he was to late. The Insecticon fired its gun, and its blast hit Bulkhead square in the back, sending him through the Ground Bridge. Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon and fired at the Insecticon. The blasts hit the Inspection and, taking the moment of confusion, Breakdown raced through the Ground Bridge.

* * *

Breakdown's pedes drug as he walked out of the Ground Bridge, exhaustion and pain making him only glance briefly to where Bulkhead was lying on the ground with smoke billowing from the hole in his back. He felt nothing for the former Wrecker, nor for anything.

Ratchet did not even notice as Breakdown walked past him, he was so busy trying to restart Bulkhead, but Breakdown did not care. Breakdown steadied himself against the base wall then, with another wave of pain, slid to the base's floor and watched distantly as the rest of the Autobots rushed into the base, their voices muted as they carried Bulkhead to the medical bay.

Breakdown turned his gaze away from the medical bay, a sense of muted, nagging nager at the fact that no one had come by to check on him.

_Its 'cause they still believe that you are a Decepticon, deep down in their sparks,_ a nasty, unwelcome voice said,  _and, why would they care for a Decepticon when one of their own is injured?_

_But aren't one of them?_ Another voice questioned.

_Oh, please, you must be a fool to think that,_ the nasty voice snarled,  _there is a reason they haven't officially named you one of them yet._

"Breakdown," Prime's voice pulled Breakdown away from his thoughts, the Autobot leader placing a gentle servo on his shoulder plate.

"What?" Breakdown asked, glancing up at the Prime only to be surprised by the utter concern flashing through Optimus' optics.

"Let me help you, until Ratchet can readily come and help you instead."

"Fine."

* * *

The roar of an engine turned Breakdown's attention to the entrance tunnel, where a sporty white car came through, transforming into Wheeljack.

Breakdown rose from where he had been seated after Optimus had patched his wounds, though only well enough to prevent further energon loss, then walked up beside the Autobots.

"What's the damage Doc?" Wheeljack asked, his gaze shifting to where Bulkhead was laying on the medical slab, fully under stasis.

"Bulkhead suffered massive trauma to his central neural conduit," Ratchet explained huskily, optics weary as Wheeljack walked up to him.

"I've watched you work, you are a maestro."

Ratchet shuttered his optics then turned to the medical screens. "The Tox-en exposure has caused system wide shutdown on a submicronic level. I can't even begin to operate until Bulkhead regains some strength."

Wheeljack's optics narrowed as he turned his helm up towards Optimus. "You going to tell me who did this to him?"

"At the moment, I believe that it is best to focus our attention on Bulkhead's recovery. Rather than revenge," Optimus said softly, his optics once again devoid of his true emotions.

Wheeljack turned his gaze to Arcee and Bumblebee then, just briefly, to Breakdown before turning back to Optimus.

"You do that," Wheeljack snapped, turning around as he transformed back into his alt mode and raced out of the base.

"Wheeljack will most likely do something rash, you know?" Ratchet muttered, turning his optics to Optimus, who frowned slightly.

"And I am not sure we could stop him if he wanted to."

"Yeah," Breakdown growled emotionlessly, "it's just so hard for any of you to understand revenge. Isn't it?"

Before the others could say something, Breakdown stormed away to his quarters, ignoring how his every movement screamed with pain.

When he got to his quarters, Breakdown slammed his door shut forcefully, then leaned against said door.  _It would be best to get some recharge but first..._

Breakdown activated his comms, searching through databank after databank until he found the precise signal he was looking for.

" _Hey, Wheeljack. The one you're looking for is an Insecticon. When you find him, make sure you kick his aft."_


	19. Chapter 19

"Sorry about not checking on you, Breakdown. I just… No apology could make up for leaving you injured as I did, but still, I am sorry," Ratchet apologized, deactivating the welding torch as he helped Breakdown up off the medical slap.

Breakdown said nothing, turning away from Ratchet and stomping into the main part of the base where Arcee and Bumblebee were nervously watching over Bulkhead and Optimus was staring at something on the HUDs.

Ratchet followed after Breakdown, stopping to check Bulkhead for a moment before turning and following after Breakdown.

"Breakdown, would you be able to explain what happened on you and Bulkhead's mission?" Ratchet asked.

"Not really," Breakdown snapped, not even looking at Ratchet, even though the medic had stopped beside him.

Ratchet vented, then turned away from Breakdown, muttering something under his breath as he started to walk away.

"But," Breakdown hissed, his words driving ratchet to a halt, "if you must know, it really isn't that exciting. We got attacked by Insecticons, then found Tox-en, carried up the volcano, got attacked again and then Bulkhead got rid of the Tox-en and the insecticon at the same time. Or so he thought."

"That's all?" Ratchet asked, though Breakdown could tell from the medic's tone that he already knew that was all Breakdown was going to say.

"Well, thank you anyways," Ratchet grumbled.

"So has Miko come back?" Breakdown asked, suddenly.

"No, why?"

"Because I have a feeling she might have sunk off with Wheeljack for their little revenge spat."

Ratchet smacked a servo to his faceplate, then muttered something that sounded like "I hate humans".

* * *

The sound of metal dragging against metal turned every mech in the base attention to the entrance tunnel where, with Miko beside him, Wheeljack limped into the base. The Wrecker's right leg was dragging behind him and he was clutching at his right arm, while Miko looked despondent.

Arcee bent down to Miko, her voice concerns. "Miko? You okay?"

"She's fine, kid's a pro," Wheeljack answered.

"I wasn't talking to you," Arcee said nastily, sending Wheeljack a glare.

Miko looked at Wheeljack then turned towards the Autobots. "How is he?"

"Bulkhead will survive," Ratchet said quietly, "He may never be fully functional again…"

Miko's face fell, but she ran towards Bulkhead.

"Miko! I don't think it is wise for you-"

Optimus raised one servo to Ratchet, stopping the medic mid sentence. Ratchet glanced towards Optimus, who gave him a slow shake of his helm, before turning to watch Miko approach Bulkhead. Wheeljack limped up to the Autobots, his gaze turned to Bulkhead also.

Wheeljack turned to the disapproving glares of the Autobots, his optics hesitating a moment longer on Breakdown than on any of the others, before he looked down at the ground. "I… I don't think I want to see Bulk right now. Not like this."

Wheeljack turned away from the Autobots, but hesitated and turned back.

"Can I talk to Breakdown, alone?" Wheeljack snarled lowly.

Optimus shrugged and, unhappily, Breakdown followed after him.

"What, Wheeljack?" Breakdown asked warily.

"Why did you contact me when I left?" Wheeljack asked, arms crossing over his chestplate.

Breakdown vented, then looked away from Wheeljack. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Really?"

Breakdown shot Wheeljack a glare and ignored him, the Wrecker's vents puffing for a moment before he transformed into his alt mode and drove away from him.

Breakdown watched Wheeljack as the white mech raced out of the base, then rolled his optic and walked right past Miko and Bulkhead, pausing only briefly enough for Miko to look up at him, her optics narrowed accusingly.

 _I wish it had been you_.

* * *

Two days later and Bulkhead still hadn't recovered - not that Breakdown at this point cared, but it was frustrating having to listen to the Autobots mope on and on about "poor Bulkhead".

But for some reason, Breakdown had become worried for his former friend. He didn't care for Bulkhead all the time but, since coming to the Autobots, he'd grown to tolerate the green mech. Well, sort of.

Breakdown shook his helm, turning away from Miko, Raf and Jack, all of whom had gathered near him on the raised platform nearest the entrance tunnel.

"What do you want?" Breakdown grumbled, turning his gaze towards from the humans watching him. He expected them to be annoying, asking about random, trivial things or Decepticon war stories.

So he didn't expect to have Miko's gaze fall away from him, or for the boys to shuffle their feet awkwardly back and forth. Miko spoke up finally, though her normally cheerful voice was tempered.

"Do you think Bulkhead will recover?"

Breakdown was surprised by the question, though he didn't let the humans know it. His helm tilted up slightly,

"Oh, he will, trust me. Bulkhead has been through worse before, he'll recover," Breakdown assured, biting back the fact that he was lying outright to the kids.

Miko looked up at Breakdown, relief flooding her optics at his words. She rushed towards Breakdown, who instinctively began to scramble away from the human -  _threat_ , his mind screamed - but she did not attack. Her little arms wrapped around Breakdown's servo and, to Breakdown's utter surprise and shock, he did not pull away from the human's touch but instead allow her to cling to him.

The young girl began to shake, sobs wracking her body as tears began to fall from her dark optics. She clung ever tighter to Breakdown, which made Raf and Jack wrap their arm around her in a tight, worried hug.

"I don't want to lose him… I don't know what I'd do without Bulk…"

"Miko," Jack said as he began trying to peel her away from Breakdown. Miko threw Jack's servo away from her and promptly buried herself against Breakdown. He tensed slightly as he was getting more and more uncomfortable with Miko.

"Uhm," Raf's voice piped up, drawing Breakdown's and Jack's attention to him. Rafael glanced towards Miko then to Breakdown. "Could you tell us how you and Bulkhead know each other, please?" Rafael looked towards Miko meaningfully, and it only took a few moments for Breakdown to realize the meaning behind his question.

Breakdown rolled his optic, but he gave in.  _They won't stop asking, and I might as well distract Miko at the same time._

"Fine, but I'm not just going to tell you that. I'll start at the beginning," Breakdown vented. His gaze traveled distantly as a flood of ancient memories took over.

* * *

_I grew up on a Cybertron that was full of life, I didn't yet know of the longevity of war, or watching friends die beside you._

_No, the Cybertron I knew for all of my vorns_   _was colorful, alive and… not ravaged by a century long war. There were no split factions of Decepticons or Autobots. Oh, but that isn't to say that Cybertron was perfect back then, oh no. No, there was still murder and unrest, which eventually lead to the war…_

_But I digress, you asked for my story, not Cybertron's. Very well._

_I lived my first few years on Cybertron alone, deep in the alleys of the poorest sector of Cybertron which bordered Kaon - yes, Kaon, the eventual Decepticon staging grounds. Sort of ironic, now that I think about it._

_Ah, moving on._

_I had no parental figure to guide me or care for me, so I had to fend for myself. And that meant becoming a scavenger and a thief. Hey, it was the only way I could survive in those days, don't be so judgemental Jack._

_It was hard scraping by every day on little more than what I could steal from the poor mechs of my sector, which didn't really offer up much more than what I already didn't have. I even had to slag around in dumpsters, if I was lucky enough to find one that hadn't been raided through already. Then again, no one where it lived could easily afford to just throw away random scraps of Energon whenever they felt like it._

_Those vorns were the some of the worst that I can remember, if only because I was so young and weak from lack of Energon. Daily life was waking early, leaving my old run down home. Well,_ home _, wouldn't be the right word. The place I settled in every night was at the back of an alleyway, with only an ancient, rusted dumpster to rest in._

_Yeah, it sucked, but enough of that._

_As I was saying, every day consisted of waking early, venturing out to find some scraps of Energon, and then retiring home very late and genealogy still starving for Energon. I would steal when I could and even beg in the open markets, though that generally did not work._

_That was my routine, and it never changed until the day I walked into Kaon._

_It was late afternoon, and I had yet to find any Energon, even though I had searched out my entire sector. Desperation, and the muddling effects of having no Energon the last two days, drove me into the depths of Kaon, where I had never been before._

_It was late in the afternoon, and I had still not seen a spot of energon. The fatigue of low energon supply muddled my senses and my wariness - gained from years of living off the street - enough so that I was not looking where I was. I did not realize that I had wandered into Kaon. Kaon was one of the deadliest places on Cybertron, even back then when it_ wasn't  _part of the Decepticons headquarters._

_In those days no mech would just willingly stroll through the streets if Kaon and come out unscathed. And I had just happened to be strolling down the streets patrolled by one of the more notorious gangs in Kaon._

_Any other day I would have gotten out of Kaon once I realized I was there - as I was exceptionally paranoid about new places - but that day I did not. I did not hear the sound of pedes moving behind me, I only noticed them when I smashed into the chestplate of the leader of the gang._

_He was known as Firestalker and, though he was only a few vorns older than I was, he already had command of an entire group of mechs and was capable of transforming. Firestalker and his gang surrounded me from all sides, making escape impossible._

_I can still see their wicked grins and the joy that burned through their optics, as if they had just found something to play with, and that was me. I was unable to hold back the fear that edged through my chassis. Since I could remember I had always been plagued by a crippling sense of paranoia - shush, Miko! - and the sight of these menacing mechs glaring down at me did not help._

_One of Firestalker's lackeys shoved me to the ground at a signal from Firestalker, who had walked up to glare down at me. I don't recall what Firestalker said but it made the mech holding me down suddenly transform his srvo into a sharp blade and begin to lower it towards my right optic -_ ironic _, isn't it? - with a cruel smile._

_Right as he was set to plunge his blade into my optic, a wild sense of flight took over my entire being. The roar that ripped from my chassis was the only warning given to Firestalker's lackey before I snatched his blade and shoved back against him. Surprisingly, and luckily, the mech holding me down had not been expecting me to act in such a way and so I was able to push him off me. The mech stumbled back but lunged back towards me with a roar, bladed servo aimed straight for my chestplate._

_I took that moment to run and run I did. I scorched my way through alleyway after alleyway, dashing past vendors and citizens, with the sound of Firestalker's gang chasing after me. The gang was rapidly closing in on me when I spotted an open door. I screeched to the right and dove through the open door._

_I didn't stop running - for all I knew the gang was still chasing me - charging down dark hallways until I ducked into an open room. I listened for the gang but nothing was to be heard, thankful, and so I let out a long sigh._

" _Well, hello, there," a voice said from the room, causing me to spook backwards in terror. From the dark corner of the room stepped out a large femme flyer, soot gray in color. "What are you up to, little one?"_

_I did not know what to say to her, and she seemed to dismiss her question with a small shrug. "You must be another one of those homeless street dwellers. But what are you doing here? In the Kaon Gladiator ring?"_

_Yes, Miko, that Gladiator pit. What ever else one is there in Kaon?_

_But I digress._

_The femme soon introduced herself as Windsong, stating that she was one of the higher ups of the ring and that she would offer me a job there. If only, as she described it, to get my filthy stench of the streets and doing something useful, so long as I gave up half my pay to her every month._

_I agreed to it and was immediately shuffled off to work for one of the fighters of the ring, named Stormbreaker. Stormbreaker wasn't the nicest of mechs to say the least, as he did not ever seem to acknowledge me as a living being, but his personal assitant. Ah, well to be honest, he would have called me his slave. Whatever._

_I worked for Storm breaker for eight vorns, in which I was tasked to helping him before a and after every fight in the ring, prepare him meals, even have to buff his chassis before formal meetings with the owners of the gladiator ring._

_Stormbreaker also taught me how to fight in those eight vorns, and fight dirty. He would make me fight him before every meal to see if I deserved to eat that day. It kinda sucked, ok, a lot of sucked._

_But another thing he taught me was what would later become the ideals of the Decepticons, or at least the Decepticons in the beginning. That mainly being equality for all mechs, dissolving the ranking system on Cybertron, stuff like that._

_Yeah, the Decepticons have changed. A lot. Now shush!_

_My job with Stormbreaker ended sooner than I would have thought, as one time he went to the ring and never came back. I didn't feel anything when I learned of his offlining, but Windsong didn't waste time in telling mainly echoed that I would need to find a new job or get ousted from the gladiator ring. The ring was my home, so I couldn't just willingly leave, and I agree to do whatever she needed._

_From then on I worked the oddest of jobs. Sometimes I had to clean up the gladiator ring after fights, or sell tickets to see the fights, even run the craziest of errands for Windsong as I was "indebted" to her._

_I didn't really have time for breaks, as I had so many jobs at the ring, but when I did took the opportunity and hit the town. Kaon wasn't the nicest place, but its citizens sure knew how to make life seem a little easier._

_There were plenty of opportunities for me to hang alt a bar, or go truly wild, but I decided to go back to my old habits that day. I slunk around and began swiping random mechs of their money, food, and more. Hey, when you see the chance take it._

_What I wasn't planning for though, was the fact that I would run across Firestalker and his gang once again. But they still thought of me as the simpering, cowering little scared mech from eight vorns ago. So when I fought back against Firestalker, to say he was shocked would be putting it very mildly._

_Even though I was outnumbered, I was able to fight them off, though I did suffer a few minor injuries. Once they were gone I turned to head back to the gladiator ring, but I smashed into a towering mech. I stumbled back and braced for an attack, but when I looked up I realized this was no random Kaon citizen._

_This mech had a sense of regality to him, with gold trim tracing over his stark white chassis. He also carried himself pridefully, showing off the large golden crest adorning his shoulderplates. He was a High Guard of the Primes, one of only a few whose task it were to patrol and maintain order on Cybertron._

_The High Guard placed a steady servo on my shoulderplate, and pulled me into a brightly lit building. He introduced himself as Sol Nexus, of the Solus Prime sector of the High Guard. He began to question me - about my dusty appearance, where I lived, if I worked, ect - but I didn't know how to answer him. I was too nervous to respond to him, and it must have shown for Sol stopped badgering me and instead told me to follow him._

_I did as he said, if only for the thought that he might hurt me like Stormbreaker would if if I didn't listen to him. He led me along until he got a sleek ship, small in size, resting at the Kaon outpost. Sol beckoned me to come with him on board his ship, which I kept refusing, until he offered up energon._

_I didn't think twice. I scampered into his ship with him and watched as we took off and left my old haunts behind. Eventually we landed near Iacon, where those of the High Guard lived. He led me up to a huge room on one of the top most floors and introduced it as his home. I warily asked him what he was getting at, to which he smiled and said that he was offering his hole as mine._

_I did not believe him, and began began to back away, but he stopped me before I could go any further. He explained that he had felt like it was the right thing to take me away from Kaon and to his home, and wished for me to stay, if only for a short amount of time._

_I grudgingly agreed, which seemed to make his day. Sol Nexus seemed to go out of his way to accommodate me, leaving work early, even going out for random things for me if I requested them. Two days came and went and I did not leave._

_I couldn't. I liked the feeling of being liked by someone and I did not want to leave that. And I never did._

_Sol Nexus began to teach me about the laws and history of Cybertron, along with the beliefs of what would later become the Autobot faction. He also taught me about loyalty to yourself and others, amounts other things, including treating those less fortunate than you as equals. I didn't realize it then, with battle training, political training and more, that Sol Nexus was preparing me for joining the High Guard._

_But that never happened._

_When I was nearly my adult stage, Sol Nexus was planning on bringing me into the High Guard apprenticeship, under whatever Prime sector I wanted. But the day he did, was the day Cybertron changed._

_I did not learn until later that night that Sol Nexus and the High Guard had all been killed in an attack from someone calling himself Megatron._

_I was outraged, for I had just lost one I had considered family, and when Megatron and his forces declared ful, rebellion I plotted revenge._

_I sought out a fledgling group calling themselves the Wreckers, and when I did I joined their ranks, if only to punish the ones that had killed Sol Nexus. At that time, the Wreckers as a small unit, but as the war escalated and brought in more groups and families it grew._

_Members came from all over, and for many different reasons. Some came because they liked the concept of not being commanded by a higher up, like Wheeljack, while some came just for the chance to fight._

_I never told anyone why I joined the Wreckers and, frankly, no one ever ask me. Being one of the most senior of members of the Wreckers, I saw many come and go, but never befriended a single one._

_But, when Wheeljack and Bulkhead joined, something began to change. I enjoyed hanging out with both of them and, for all I know, they might have too. I trusted them then, but now, that is not something I can feel for them._

_Why? Huff._

_A unit of the Wreckers, including me, Bulkhead, and a few others, we're called to action to save a unit of Autobots that had been ambushed at Tyger Pax. This happened after I had been with the Wreckers for nearly 116 vorns._

_We got to the site only to be beset by a barrage of shelling. Once we got away from the shelling all of us soon realized that we were surrounded by Decepticons. All of us began to fight the Decepticons. Nothing bad had happened until, after saving Bulkhead from three Decepticons, I was caught by an explosion._

_The explosion knocked me out and damaged me pretty badly. While I was out, the rest of the Wreckers were and be to chase off the group of Decepticons they were fighting, then finally came over to me._

_I can't vividly recall what happened here, though I do remember the Wreckers arguing and fighting about whether not to bring me back home or not. One of the Wreckers, Sharpclaw, wanted to leave me because a new unit of Decepticons was coming and they would have had to carry me back to the Ground bridge, with the uncertainty of wet her I would die or not._

_Bulkhead and most if the others argued for helping me back, but… Long story short they left me behind, Sharpclaw tried to end my life right there, and they fled. Like_ cowards _._

 _Later, I awoke in an old Decepticon medical unit. If you give me the time, Miko, I could explain_ how  _I got there._

_I learned from Knock Out, who was helping me, that a Decepticon unit led by a Seeker named Skyquake, had found me on the battlefield. He called Knock Out and his medical unit out and they took me to that medical unit._

_I was stuck there for what seemed like forever, and with all the time in the world to think I realized I had been betrayed. The Wreckers, especially Sharpclaw, had left me dying to be picked up by the Decepticons._

_On my last day in the medical unit I was approached by Megatron. He told me that he knew I was one of the Wreckers - I vehemently told him_ former  _member - and that he would offer me the chance to become a Decepticon - if I refused, by the way, he would have personally killed me. But Megatron only offered this to me so long as I told him where the Wreckers' base was._

_I refused for a few clicks, then told Megatron where the base was. He smiled triumphantly and told me that he expected me to be part of the attack. The next day._

_I never thought twice about not going, or warning the Wreckers. No, I wanted to hurt them as they had done to me. And the only way to do that was to kill them._

_Megatron's until for the attack was huge, consisting of many high ranked mechs and a large amount of Vehicon and Eradicons. The Decepticons and I got to the base and, to my utter joy, every Wrecker was there._

_None of them expected the attack, which automatically gave the Decepticons the edge in the fight. I sought out one specific Wrecker, pleased to find Sharpclaw busy fighting an Eradicon. The Eradicon spotted me and scrambled away and, without sharing words, Sharpclaw and I fought. My hatred for him gave me an edge that he could not combat._

_I killed him, but I wasn't satisfied. I sought out Bulkhead and wand and Wheeljack and found them with the mech Bulkhead fancied so much, Annihilation. They looked horrified to see me advancing on them, expressions almost comical._

_We, who were once friends, now fought savagely against each other. The fight between us stopped when I killed Annihilation. Wheeljack and Bulkhead tried to attack me but Seaspray called a hasty retreat and the Wreckers fled._

_At the end of it all, seven mechs died:_ _Topspin, Sharpclaw, Corsair, Chainsteel, Skysnarl, Annihilation and Rumblefoot_

_Megatron had seen me kill Sharpclaw and Annihilation and then fully invited me into the Decepticons._

_I agreed and soon was sent out to the war as a new mech. I enjoyed killing those who I had once fought beside and I lost all the ideals Sol Nexus had taught me._

_Thinking about it, this is the first time I've thought of Sol Nexus in eons. Hu…_

_After that, you can gather what happened. Fighting for the Decepticons, leaving Cybertron, going to Earth, and now I'm here. With my original side. Sort of… odd._

_But enough of that._

* * *

Breakdown stood and, without looking back at the humans still gathered near him, walked away.


	20. Chapter 20

_A few months, at least three, had passed since Miko and Wheeljack had killed the Insecticon, Bulkhead and much had changed within the base._

_There was now a new member, a young mech named Smokescreen, who Prime and the Autobots had taken in after his escape shuttle has crash landed on Earth. And, after that, came the Star Saber, an ancient legendary sword, and a set of strange keys, which had all been stolen by Starscream. Starscream had stolen the keys, known as the Omega Keys, and fled, which left the Autobots with no chance to recover Cybertron._

_The Autobots, and Breakdown, were now gathered in the main room of the base, along with the three young humans._

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us about the Omega Keys before?" Jack asked, arm slung over a railing next to Arcee.

Arcee sighed,optics softened as she turned her gaze on Jack, "You probably didn't notice, but things have been kind of intense lately."

"So, you guys might be heading home soon?" Raf asked Bumblebee, his tone unmistakable stiff.

"Ah, don't worry Raf, we'll come visit! Once we get out place set up he can bunk with us! Right, Bulk?" Miko asked, to which Bulkhead winced.

"Uh, Miko-"

"You are taking me with you, right?" Miko's voice was bordering on desperation, Bulkhead quickly averting his gaze from his human charge's gaze.

"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here?" Ratchet snapped, "Not only do we lack any actual method of reaching Cybertron, but Starscream now controls the sole means of our planet's restoration."

"As far as we know," Optimus said, his slight attempt at optimism failing.

"As far as is obvious," Breakdown grumbled quietly. He knew Starscream well enough to know that the gray seeker would have immediately fled to the  _Nemesis_ with his new-found bargaining chips.

"What do you mean by that?" Optimus asked slowly, his words drawing the rest of the Autobot's gazes to the former Decepticon.

"It's easy. Starscream stole the Keys to get back into favor with Megatron. And with something as important as the Omega Keys in Starscream's servos, Megatron most likely was happy to welcome Starscream back," Breakdown explained, noting the tight scowl that curved down Ratchet's faceplate at his words.

"Without contacting the highest bidder? Ha, it wouldn't surprise me if he contacted us-"

Ratchet's words were cut off by a quiet, immediate, beep that echoed from the major comms, snapping the attention of every mech to the HUDs.

"Okay,  _that_ is weird," Bulkhead commented, as Arcee asked if it was Starscream.

Ratchet tapped a sequence on the control panel. "No," he said, turning to face the Autobots, "it is Dreadwing. And he wants to meet."

"WHAT!?" Arcee shrieked, her shout drowning out the gasp from Smokescreen, who had been standing beside Breakdown, and a shocked gasp from Bulkhead.

"But isn't he a Decepticon? Why would Dreadwing be contacting us? The  _Autobots_?" Smokescreen asked incredulously, giving Breakdown an odd glance, though Breakdown had no idea why the young Autobot had.

"A trap?" Bulkhead suggested, which made Optimus shake his helm lightly. "Then what?"

"I do not know, Bulkhead. But for now, let us not rush to decisions immediately," Optimus ordered, effectively shutting down the questions from the other Autobots, "But, in case this is a trap, all of you are coming to this meeting place. Ratchet, stay here."

Ratchet gave Optimus a short nod, then began prepping the Ground Bridge.

* * *

The Ground Bridge opened up to a overcovering of thick fog, leaving visibility to a minimum. The Autobots, minus Breakdown, all immediately switched their servos into blaster mode, aiming around in the fog wildly.

"Drop your weapons!"

"Hands where we can see 'em!" Smokescreen ordered, just as Breakdown noticed a looming figure moving closer to them through the fog. Arcee and the others noticed a second later and all turned their blasters on the form.

"I'm not here to fight," Dreadwing's booming voice cut through the fog, "but to give you  _this_." Just as Dreadwing said this, he pointed with his servo and the fog lifted entirely to show the Forge of Solus Prime lying at his pedes.

"The Forge of Solus Prime," Arcee noted obviously.

"Could be rigged to blow," Bulkhead suggested.

"Doubt it," Breakdown muttered to the side, as Optimus slowly lowered his transformed servos.

"Dreadwing, what do you ask in return?" Optimus questioned the Decepticon.

Dreadwing's optics shuttered close as he said, voice dull, "Only that you use it wisely."

"And? The Omega Keys?" Arcee's question was more close to a snarl as she lowered her stance for an anticipated battle.

"They are in Megatron's possession, under heaviest of guard."

"'Scream did make a deal with the 'Cons," Bulkhead said, making Breakdown snort.

"What did I tell you," he groused, letting an exaggerated sigh escape his vents.

Optimus deactivated his blasters, switching them back into their original form, which prompted the rest of the Autobots to follow suit.

"A shadow of disgrace has been cast upon the Decepticon, it is a cause I no longer wish to be part of." Dreadwing's helm hung as the honorable Decepticon admitted his feelings, pain rolling off his chassis in waves. His words tugged at Breakdown, an unsettling feeling festering in his spark.

_That is exactly what I thought before I left the Decepticons… But Dreadwing would never leave the Decepticons like I did, he isn't that type of mech. Is he thinking-_

The sound of Optimus' pedes moving snapped Breakdown from his thoughts and, before Optimus could say something, Breakdown moved in his way. Optimus stared down at Breakdown, brow ticking up in surprise as Breakdown shot him a withering glare.

"He won't join the Autobots, so don't even try. But give me the chance to talk to him,  _privately_ , and maybe I could change that," Breakdown asked bitingly, surprise jolting through his chassis when Optimus gave him a relenting nod.

Optimus turned to the others and signaled them away. Once the five Autobots had moved away Breakdown walked up to Dreadwing, who looked mildly surprised to see him.

"It is surprising to see you once again, Breakdown. What is it you are wishing to discuss?" Dreadwing asked Breakdown, his tone still dull.

"You're planning to go back to the  _Nemesis_ , aren't you? Why?" Breakdown snapped, optic snapping back to the Autobots, who were discussing amongst themselves, for a brief second before glancing back to Dreadwing.

Dreadwing's sharp blue wings lowered faintly, the light in his optics fading giving Breakdown the answer he was seeking.

"Don't go back to the  _Nemesis_ , not with Starscream there. I suspect you know what Starscream did to Skyquake. Right?"

"Yes," was the only response Dreadwing gave Breakdown, which elicited a soft groan from Breakdown.

"Then you should know that Starscream is far more favored by Megatron than any of his other Second in Commands. If you try something, I wouldn't be surprised if Megatron decided to side with Starscream. That guy did just bring him what he had been searching for in the Omega Keys. Megatron won't turn his back on Starscream after he brought Megatron those, at least for now."

"I will think on it," Dreadwing replied crypitcally.

"Dreadwing, this isn't the Decepticon cause we joined, back on Cybertron. I was to blind to realize that for eons, to consumed by revenge to ever realize until they left me to become some human experiment. The Decepticons have no honor, not anymore," Breakdown, the realization of all that he had done for a cause he should not have been following, weighing heavily on him.

Dreadwing didn't say anything this time in response.

"Well, I am not going to stop you then. Just think, before you do something."

Dreadwing said nothing in response to Breakdown, then slowly gave him an understanding nod before turning and walking off the cliff behind him, transforming into his jet mode and blasted away.

Breakdown watched after Dreadwing for a moment or two more before he picked up the Forge and walked up to Optimus and the Autobots.

"Here," he snapped, dropping the Forge into Optimus' servos, before turning and stomping away from the group.

* * *

"Well, it's no Star Saber, but it's better off of Megatron's plate," Smokescreen commentated, gaze locked on the activate Forge spinning in Optimus' servos. Breakdown was standing away from the group of mechs admiring the Forge, his thoughts elsewhere.

"With the Decepticons in possession of all four Omega Keys, a more appropriate use of the Forge would be to use it to replicate our own," Ratchet suggested, the discussion going on between the Autobots turning Breakdown's attention to them fully.

"Even with such power, their reconstruction would require a level of expertise I do not possess," Optimus replied evenly.

"Then we better hope that Megatron doesn't destroy the Keys to prevent anyone from going home," Arcee reckoned.

"Megatron may be evil but I believe he will use the Keys for their intended purpose," Optimus expressed, lowering the Forge to the ground.

"Then why don't we let him keep them and do the work for us?" Bulkhead interjected, his words causing the Autobots to turn their helms in his direction.

"Really?" Breakdown hissed to himself, optic rolling at Bulkhead's words.  _We may tolerate each other now, but he is still dull as dirt._

"Well, I mean, what difference does it make in who restores Cybertron?" Bulkhead asked defiantly, reacting to the bewildered expressions of his companions.

"If Megatron revives Cybertron, he will no doubt use it to his political advantage," Optimus countered Bulkhead, who stuttered openly.

"You lost me."

"In all likelihood, the leader of the Decepticon would portray himself as our planet's savior, and brand all Autobots as war criminals."

_And traitors._

"Megatron's so called achievement would influence Cybertron for eons to come, poisoning the sparks and minds of its returning citizens," Ratchet said, the hope that had been so barely noticeable in his voice now petered away into defeat. "Hardly the ideal way to begin our new age."

"But there is hope, while Megatron may have the Omega Keys, he has yet to discover the Omega Lock itself."

"Omega Lock?"

"Wait, now you've lost me," Arcee exclaimed.

"That which the four Relics were designed to activate. We must locate the device before Megatron does, and secure it until we can recover the Omega Keys."

"But there are no more Iacon entries to decode. This  _Lock_ could be anywhere on Earth!" Ratchet exclaimed, servos flying with each word.

"Not exactly," Optimus said, "it is on Cybertron."

"What?"

"How do you know?" Ratchet asked, the revelation of the fact stunning his words to silence.

"Alpha Trion revealed the location to me during the message from the Star Saber," Optimus explained, his tone level without emotion as the Autobot leader moved to the deactivated Ground Bridge.

"And… You never thought to tell us?" Ratchet asked incredulously.

"Alpha Trion did not wish it so," Optimus said sagely as he lowered himself down to the floor of the Ground Bridge, "With the Forge of Solus Prime, we now posses the means of reaching Cybertron. I must work quickly, as our tactical advantage over Megatron will not last long."

* * *

"Is it just my imagination or has Optimus been acting differently ever since that message?" Arcee asked as she joined where Breakdown, Smokescreen, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were all standing, watching Optimus work on the Ground Bridge.

"Yeah, he has been keeping things from us," Bulkhead admitted.

"Even  _Ratchet_ is out of the loop!" Arcee seethed, casting a glance back to Ratchet who was busying working on the HUD control near the med bay.

"Give me one good reason Optimus couldn't trust us?" Bulkhead asked.

"So that if any of you got captured, Megatron wouldn't have been able to suck the info from your processors,  _obviously_ ," Breakdown snapped, his gaze turning to Smokescreen standing beside him. "Megatron already successfully captured Smokescreen, so imagine if Smokescreen had know about the Omega Lock? What then?"

No one answered his question, but Bulkhead did let out a moody growl as he looked around the encircled mechs.

"What does it matter though? He has all of the Omega Keys, and we have nothing," Bulkhead sniped coldly, his sigh interrupted by a loud bang issuing from the Ground Bridge. Every helm snapped to Optimus' direction, where the Prime was slowly pulling himself up from the Ground Bridge base.

"I guess he finished?" Bulkhead said, as the Autobot leader walked up to them, Forge in his servos. Optimus ignored the group, his strides taking him past the Autobots and Breakdown, and down one of the hallways.

"Yeah… He really has been acting odd," Smokescreen said quietly.

Ratchet moved away from where he had been working previously, signaling the group of mechs to follow him as he led them to the Ground Bridge control. Activating the anel of a stroke of his servo, Ratchet turned his helm to the group.

"This is yet another astonishing convergence of magic and science, courtesy of the ancients," Ratchet said, awe filling his voice.

" _And_  our leader," Smokescreen added.

"I just can't believe a few swings of that hammer and BAM-"

"Our Ground Bridge is now a Space Bridge," Arcee finished Bulkhead's sentence, just as a pulsating, green flash, lit up the base.

Breakdown tensed, Smokescreen and Arcee tensing alongside hima s Ratchet's voice cried out in worry.

"A massive Energon burst occurring outside Earth's atmosphere, a surge of that kind can only mean one thing. Activation of another Space Bridge."

"Megatron has discovered the location of the Omega Lock is on Cybertron," Optimus' commanding voice turned the tense gazes of each mech to him as he marched out near them. "

"It appears we have lost our advantage," Ratchet added, his tone darkening.

"But, with Megatron unaware that we now posses the means of interstellar travel, the element of surprise remains in our favor. We must embark on this mission with every resource at our disposal. Arcee, Smokescreen, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee, retrieve the Iacon Relics we gathered before." The four mentioned mechs nodded and moved away swiftly from Optimus.

Optimus snapped his gaze to Breakdown, who stiffened his stance as the Prime's optics locked onto him.

"Breakdown, you will leave immediately, keep watch of the children-"

"What? Are you serious?" Breakdown gasped, rage and indignation fuelling his words. "You're making me watch the fragging children? Do you think I can't fight? I  _can_!"

"Breakdown, calm down. I am doing this because I fear that Megatron may use the children against us if something happens on Cybertron. And because I know of the feelings you still harbor for Megatron's soldiers, and I do not believe you would be fully effective in battle against those you still care for," Optimus finished, laying one servo on Breakdown's shoulder plate.

Breakdown turned his helm away from Optimus, finally relenting to Optimus' command with a taught nod.

"Fine, Optimus. I'll do it."

"Good, they are at the school. Here are the coordinates for their location," Optimus said, handing over a small canner to Breakdown, who took it and quickly downloaded the coordinates to his inner data."Oh, and one last thing, don't bring them back to base, get them as far from here as you can. I do not want Miko to escape through the Space Bridge like she has before."

Breakdown nodded, then turned to leave, but before he left, he turned back to Optimus. "Good luck."

Optimus glanced back at Breakdown and gave him a surprised look, then nodded respectfully.

Breakdown snapped into his alt mode and peeled out of the base, engine roaring with urgency.

* * *

Breakdown slowed to a stop in the parking lot of a large, brick building, overflowing with humans. He couldn't help the nervous stutter thrumming from his engine as humans brushed close by him, loading into cars beside him in droves of varied numbers. But none of them were the Autobot's humans, and so he sat there.

An hour had passed, and still he had seen no sign of the kids, which only served to annoy him further. By now, almost all the cars in the parking lot had already left and they were no more humans wandering near him.

He was about to give up when finally, the three humans came through the doors of the school, though they did not seem to notice Breakdown. The trio sat at the steps and stared off to the sides, for a few minutes, still not noticing Breakdown. After even more time, Raf and Miko began glancing around more feverishly, while Jack pulled a cellphone from his shirt.

 _They must be looking for the Autobots… Ugh. I hate doing this_ , Breakdown thought, just as he blared his horn, the sharp sound jolting the attention of all three humans towards him. Miko leapt to her feet alongside Raf, while Jack promptly dropped the cellphone he had been holding. Breakdown sighed and drove up to the entrance of the school, unhappily unlocking his doors as the kids bounded up to him.

"No WAY!" Miko shrieked, her voice jarring at Breakdown's nerves as she barely held back her excitement.

Raf and Jack had walked up to him much quieter than Miko had, though both still looked stunned.

"Why are you picking us up?" Jack asked Breakdown as he, Raf and Miko loaded up inside, Jack taking the passenger seat while Miko and Raf sat in the back seats.

Breakdown drove away from the school before answering Jack's question, still wary of the few straggling humans leaving the school.

"I came on Optimus' orders," Breakdown explained, ignoring the itching need to rid the  _humans from_ \- Breakdown buried his thoughts, putting his entire concentrating on maneuvering on the road.

"Why?" Miko asked, her voice still breathless with surprise.

"Because he ordered me to. That is all," Breakdown said, careful to keep his tone level as he pulled to a stop at a red light.

"No,  _why_?" Miko questioned,  _again_.

"It doesn't matter to you  _humans_ ," Breakdown growled nastily, which effectively shut up Miko,  _at least for now._ Once the red light turned green, Breakdown took a sharp turn left, thrumming down a wide street.

"Hey, Breakdown? We're going in the wrong direction. You are supposed to turn  _right_ on Rabb Street to get to the base, not left. Where are we going?" Jack asked urgently, yet politely.

"Yeah! We are we going? I want to go to the base!" Miko yelled from the backseat.

 _There goes any hope of quiet_ , Breakdown thought to himself, wincing at the way Miko's voice seemed to echo ceaselessly.

"I am not taking you to the base, Optimus' orders. I have to get away from Jasper," Breakdown explained, hoping that that answer would be enough for the vocal girl.

"But… Why? Did something happen to Bee?" Raf asked this time, worry leaking through his voice.

"Not that I know of."

"That you know of?" Jack spoke up.

" _Yes_."

"What does  _that_ mean?" Jack asked, hand gripping onto the inner handle on Breakdown's passenger door.

Breakdown did not reply, though he did let out a loud, threatening rumble from his engine. Jack sighed in response and pulled out his cellphone, Miko following suit as Raf pulled a large book out from his bag.

Welcome silence spread between the three kids and the mech, the only sound being that of Breakdown's engine rumbling as he moved further away from Jasper.

A few hours into their journey, in which Breakdown had grown so used to the silence that he had almost forgotten that he was transporting the children, when Raf suddenly piped up from the back.

"Uh, excuse me, Breakdown? I have to go to the bathroom, there is a rest stop a half mile from here. Could you pull in there? Please?"

"Unbelievable," Breakdown muttered but did as Raf asked, pulling onto the off ramp that led into the rest stop, pulling to a steady stop in one of the truck parking spots.

"Make it fast," Breakdown warned as he unlocked his doors, watching as all three kids leapt from him and bolted off to the rest stop building. Breakdown snapped his doors shut and waited, all the while shifting his mirrors to see behind him and in front of him.

While the kids were away, Breakdown noticed a human girl, with short blonde hair, approached his side. Slowly she ran a hand across his side, and it took all of Breakdown's power to stay still as the human continued her path around him.

"What a nice-"

"Hey! That's our truck!" Jack's voice snapped Breakdown's attention away from the blonde human and towards the three rapidly approaching humans of his.

"Uh, sorry!" The blonde female said, backing away from Breakdown hurriedly as Jack moved around to Breakdown's driver seat, popped open the door and clambered up onto the seat.

Miko and Raf hurriedly climbed in and, without a moment of hesitation, Breakdown peeled out of the rest stop, his stress lowering once he was on the highway. But there was one more issue.  _Jack_.

"Jack, I am going to pull over here. Once I do,  _please_ , move over to the passenger side," Breakdown asked, pulling onto a small dirt road. The minute he had pulled to a stop, Jack hurriedly moved over to the passenger seat.

"I'm good," Jack said, and Breakdown pulled back onto the highway.

The sky had begun to darken when Miko spoke up from the back, for the first time in hours. "Breakdown, why aren't you telling us what is going on? All of the Autobots have been acting really strange lately and I don't understand why."

"They are acting strange because none of us thought we would ever get our home back, and now we have a chance to. It is very trying to some of them, especially Optimus and Ratchet, especially since Megatron has access to Cybertron… And he is already there. Same with the others, minus Ratchet, they are all at Cybertron also. That is all I know."

"Oh…" Miko said, "Are you excited to go back to your home, Breakdown?"

Miko's question surprised Breakdown for, ever since he had joined up with the Autobots, never had he really been asked a question personally by any of the Autobots or their humans, except for the one time Miko had requested to know Breakdown's backstory.

"Well, yes, Miko. I don't belong here, Earth isn't for me. I hate humans to much to ever be happy in a world populated so heavily by them. Cybertron is where I belong, where  _all_ Cybertronians belong. So, yes, I am very excited to have the potential to go-"

Breakdown's words were cut off by a audial splitting explosion and a white-hot blaze of pain that ripped through his chassis. Nothing made sense, but for some reason, Breakdown felt like he was on his side-

Another wave of murderous pain blasted through his chassis, his systems were screaming-

 _The humans! Have to protect_ -

Something hit Breakdown once more, and another explosion followed suit and Breakdown was sent flying, pain snapping him out of his alt mode as he crashed to the hard mesquite covered ground.

Engines roared overhead, and what remained of his vision was blurry, to blurry to make out what was happening, but there, a gray flash-

* * *

" _BREAKDOWN! BREAKDOWN! HEY! BREAKDOWN!"_ The panicked voice of Ratchet pulled Breakdown from the blackness that had swamped his mind.

"Ratchet…" Breakdown wheezed as he slowly pulled himself up off the hard ground. The first thing he noticed was the large amount of energon pouring from numerous holes in his chassis.

_Not again…_

_Wait…_

"The kids!" Breakdown tried to scramble to his pedes, but immediately collapsed to the ground, waves of blackness hitting his processor-

" _Breakdown? Where are you? What is going on?"_ Ratchet's voice pulled Breakdown back from the blackness and into the present.

"Ratchet, I don't know. The kids… They're gone. And-"

" _Yes?"_

"I'm going to need you to come get me, I can't move."

" _Oh fuc-"_ Ratchet's voice cut off with a flurry of swears and then silence. Breakdown, once more attempted to stand, but to avail.  _Again_.

Only a moment or two had seemed to pass when the sound of a Ground Bridge opening behind Breakdown pulled his gaze to the far left. Ratchet was hurrying out of the Bridge, though he stopped short when he saw Breakdown.

"What happened to you?" Ratchet asked as he skidded to a halt beside Breakdown, horror very obvious in his optics..

"I'm not sure. I had the kids, then something hit me, and… They're gone, Ratchet," Breakdown explained, wincing as Ratchet wrapped his arms around Breakdown and lifted him to his pedes. Breakdown quavered but leaned heavily on ratchet as the medic supported him back into the base.

Once the two were inside the base, Ratchet helped Breakdown to the medbay, forcing him to sit as the medic began pulling tools from their storage spots. Once Ratchet had everything, he came to where Breakdown was lying and began repairing his wounds.

"Ratchet, just do minimal patching. I suspect the Decepticons have the kids… I need to get to Cybertron, and help them," Breakdown said slowly, biting through the pain blazing through his chassis as Ratchet began wielding his smallest wounds shut.

Ratchet stopped for a moment, his optics serious as he stared at Breakdown then, without a word, began repairing Breakdown.

"Ratchet! Come-"

"NO."

"What? Why?" Breakdown asked incredulously, a gasp of pain escaping from his mouth as Ratchet climbed onto his leg forcefully, before turning to glare at him.

"You can't go, simple as that, Breakdown."

"But-" Before Breakdown could finish his sentence, Ratchet forcefully grabbed his helm and pointed at the lower section of his chassis.

" _That_  is why," Ratchet hissed, and horror flooded through Breakdown.

A huge gaping hole was all that was left of his legs.


	21. Chapter 21

Sparks flew from Ratchet's welding torch as he continued his harried scramble to repair Breakdown. Ratchet had been able to find spare Cybertronian metal, which he had been able to piece together into makeshift legs, close to his original ones, for Breakdown.

Ratchet had done operations like this many times during the War, but he did not have the materials he had back then, not for the makeshift legs or his medical supplies. The medic could only hope what he had at the base would suffice, for now. He was struggling to attach them correctly to Breakdown, who wasn't making anything easier by how much he was talking.

It surprised Ratchet, before today he would never pegged Breakdown as talkative, but now? The strong mech was proving his early thoughts wrong.

"Okay, Breakdown, I tried my best. I don't know how long those new legs will last," Ratchet said as he stepped back from Breakdown, who immediately swung his new legs to the floor and stood. Seeing what would happen before it did, Ratchet steadied Breakdown, who shot him an annoyed glance.

After a bit, once Ratchet was sure Breakdown could walk on his own on the new legs, the medic hurried to the Ground Bridge controls. Breakdown walked up to the Bridge base slowly, then turned to Ratchet.

"Ready?"

Breakdown nodded then, as the Space Bridge opened, transformed into his alt mode and drove through the portal.

* * *

_This was a mistake. Ouch, frag, frag, FRAG!_

Breakdown was beginning to regret this. He was a medic - okay, more like a medic assistant but same difference - and he should have known this was an idiotic decision. But no, he had to feel sentimental for three dumb humans and gp against what his instincts had been telling him.

_Frag humans. Frag them all._

But the decision to have Rachet retrofit him new legs wasn't the only decision he was beginning to regret, no, the second regret was where he was.

Cybertron.

After Cybertron had been laid waste by the Decepticons and Autobots alike, Breakdown had believed he would never see it again, and back then he hadn't wanted to. He still didn't want to. This wasn't the Cybertron he had wanted to come back to, not this desolate, depression, gray, planet, but the lively, busy planet before the war.

 _I made so many mistakes, just for revenge, and who suffered for it? Cybertron. I was_ happy  _to play the part of destroy back then, I never even thought what my actions could lead to. Idiot. Idiot._

The sharp rattle of his tires hitting metal caused Breakdown to pull to a hasty stop. Nervously, Breakdown turned back to whatever he had driven over, a wave of nauseous hitting him at the sight of a whole squadron of Eradicons littering the ground.

 _What happened?_ Breakdown wondered as he drove up to the closest Eradicon. He was surprised to see no wounds, scorch marks, no indication of what had ended its life.  _What happened to you?_

Looking around through, the same malady had happened to all of the dead Eradicons, every single one of them.

 _No weapon the Autobots have- Wait… The Spark Extractor? They_ used  _the Spark Extractor?_ This realization hit Breakdown fullforce and, with a quick spin of his tyres, he tore away from the ghostly field of death.

He did not know where he was going but a trail of dead Vehicons and Eradicons, all destroyed to some varied extent, gave him a good hint of which way to go. His engine began to thrum heavily as he sped even faster over the Sea of Rust, Optimus had made note-

Without warning, Breakdown was knocked off course, his alt mode sent careening crazily until he smashed into a half decaying pillar poking out from the Sea of Rust. Breakdown shook the stars from his vision and glared towards the gray figure standing aways from him.

"Starscream. Nice to  _run_ into you again," Breakdown hissed, switching out of his alt mode so he could steady himself against the pillar behind him.

"I wouldn't say the same to you, Breakdown. It is actually quite frustrating to have someone I honestly thought I had killed come back,  _twice_ ," Starscream snarled, his optics falling to Breakdown's makeshift legs. "But I see, I did a number on you. Though I should have aimed higher, than you would be dead, and not here to mess with my master's plans, just like your meddling Autobot pals."

"Ah, Starscream, you must have poor aim-" Just as Breakdown said that, Starscream lunged for him. Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon and fired at the seeker, the red hot bolt hitting Starscream in the chestplate. Starscream let out a shocked squeak and fell back to the ground, scrambling to his pedes as Breakdown slowly advanced towards him.

As Breakdown paced around Starscream, he could not help but wince from the pain shooting from where his new legs had been so hastily connected by Ratchet. Unfortunately, Starscream seemed to notice for the Seeker began to circle Breakdown much faster than Breakdown could move with his new legs.

"I'm honestly embarrassed, Breakdown," Starscream taunted from behind Breakdown, the blue mech wheeling about to keep his optic on Starscream but his makeshift legs could not hold the pressure and Breakdown almost collapsed. The only thing that kept him up was his own stubbornness, he  _would not_ show such an easy weakness to Starscream, for if he did, he could very well die.

Breakdown braced himself, shoulder cannon still activate, but Starscream continued to circle about him, the seeker's optics watching him warily.

"What did you do with the humans?" Breakdown asked, the ice in his tone unmistakable.

Starscream began to laugh, his gaze falling away from Breakdown for a moment before he turned back to Breakdown.

"The humans? Do you actually care about them? Who are you and what happened to the Breakdown that got tortured by the humans of MECH? Or did you forgive the humans, since you are one of those simpering Autobots wimps now?"

"I'm not an Autobot," Breakdown snarled, but before he could continue Starscream interrupted him with a sharp laugh.

"So, you work for them, get hurt for them, protect their humans, and you still aren't an Autobot? Why?"

"I'm not an Autobot, because I don't want to be one-"

"Oh, I  _doubt_ that, Breakdown. I suspect it's something more along the lines of that they  _still_ don't trust you, then again who would? You change your allegiances like Vehicons change their fuel. Whenever it best suites you, and I bet Prime knows that." Starscream's words struck at a nerve in Breakdown.

He had been with the Autobots for months and, even though sometimes he tried to pretend he didn't see it, he still felt like the Autobots were treating him extremely volatility. Did they still not trust him, like Starscream said, or-

 _No. Ignore Starscream. You have to help the Autobots. For Cybertron_ ,Breakdown told himself, steeling himself to Starscream's words.

 _Maybe you should help the Decepticons revive Cybertron? They at .least know the importance of our home_ , a voice song in Breakdown's processor, distracting him from Starscream's advances.

The gray seeker had noticed the conflict in Breakdown gleefully, and was now silently approaching Breakdown, his missed arm raising, straight towards Breakdown.

"Goodbye!" Starscream hissed. Just as he activated the missile, something big and heavy ramrod full force into him, sending the Decepticon hurtling backwards.

The noise of metal screeching across teal snapped Breakdown out of the convoluted mess of his mind and to where Starscream had once been. In the Decepticon's place was Bulkhead and Smokescreen, both of whom looked absolutely harried, Bulkhead even more so.

"What are you doing here? Where are the kids, where is Miko?" Bulkhead growled, advancing on Breakdown as Smokescreen checked on Starscream.

"Uh… The Decepticons have them. I came to tell you, warn you," Breakdown explained, wisely stepping away from Bulkhead who screamed in rage.

"Yeah, Ratchet warned us you were coming," Smokescreen said.

"How could you let them take Miko!? HOW!?" Bulkhead roared, lunging for Breakdown, only to be stopped by Smokescreen, who had leapt between him and Breakdown and was forcefully pushing against Bulkhead.

"Now is not the time, Bulkhead. We have to catch up with Optimus, Arcee and Bee. Come on," Smokescreen urged, effectively shutting down Bulkhead's advances. Bulkhead nodded stiffly, though he still sent an accusatorial glare in Breakdown's direction.

Smokescreen turned to Breakdown, signaled for him to follow them, and switched into his alt mode alongside Bulkhead. Breakdown did so a moment later and raced after the two Autobots silently.

None of the three said as thing as they raced along the Sea of Rust, finally coming to a stop beside Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee, who were also in their alt modes.

Breakdown pulled to a halt beside Smokescreen, an uncomfortable hot rush of embarrassment racing through his chassis at the bewildered gazes falling on him from Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee.

"Breakdown, why are you here?" Optimus questioned, the furious rumble of his engine shaking Breakdown to the core.

"I… I came to help you, and to tell you that the Decepticons have the humans," Breakdown explained sheepishly, wincing at the Fury spilling from Arcee and Bumblebee.

"How did this happen?" Optimus asked, his tone scarily calm.

"I was ambushed by Starscream and his Eradicons while transporting the humans away from Jasper. I wasn't able to stop them from taking the humans," Breakdown said quickly, to which Optimus gave a worried sigh.

Prime was not pleased, Breakdown could tell, but the leader seemed to relent slightly. "We must hurry, we may have the Omega Keys now but we have little time to get to the Omega Lock and save the children."

Optimus' tires spun and he raced away, with the others following close behind. Breakdown followed close behind, ignoring the subtle waves of pain thudding throughout his chassis, dulling his vision and mind.

Finally the six mechs reached their destination, all of whom transformed out of their alt modes and skidded to a halt in front of a small, raised platform protruding from the ground.

"Our headstart won't last long," Arcee commented beside Breakdown tensely.

"This is where Alpha Trion said we'd find it, right?" Smokescreen asked.

"These are the coordinates," Bulkhead assured the young Autobot, stopping at the strange device protruding from the ground. "It really doesn't look like much."

"Ratchet, we found the Omega Lock," Optimus informed, eliciting a sigh of relief from Ratchet over the comms. "According to Alpha Trion, the Omega Lock is a conduit to the very Allspark itself."

Smokescreen stepped forwards, Omega Key held tight in his servo as he stopped in front of Optimus. "Optimus, an honor like this shouldn't belong to me." The young Autobot held out the Omega Key for Optimus, but stopped short when it began to glow. As Smokescreen's Key began to glow the ones Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee's Keys began to glow, and then the device began doing the same.

Pulsating light pooled from the device and into the ground, spreading beneath the pedes of Breakdown and the others, and as the light spread four massive pillars rose from the ground. The pillars rose until it towered beyond the Autobots and Breakdown, two large arches rising from the each pillar's side, until they formed a large ring above them. As the ring formed fully together a large blue portal opened within the ring.

"Wow…" Smokescreen breathed, but his awe was cut off by the sharp roar of a jet's engine. Breakdown wheeled around, optic widening as Megatron, in his alt mode, landed on the platform with a heavy thud.

Breakdown, Bulkhead and Smokescreen tensed as Megatron continued closing in on them.

"Autobots, I would suggest that you put a halt to your task and hand over those Keys," Megatron growled.

"And why should we do that?" Smokescreen growled back, just as a Space Bridge opened up a ways behind Megatron. From the Bridge came three figures carrying three strange tubular devices. As the Bridge faded away Breakdown immediately recognized Starscream, Knock Out and Soundwave, who were carrying Jack, Miko and Raf respectively in the tubes.

"So that I may  _hand_ over the humans!" Megatron taunted, pointing to the three humans in the tubes.

"And if we refuse?" Optimus hissed.

"Then I will have no choice but to open the pods, exposing your pets to Cybertron's  _toxic_ atmosphere and then we can all watch them instantly perish,  _together_ ," Megatron answered, before turning to Starscream. "Starscream!"

Starscream smiled and lifted Jack's pod. "Oh, Jack! It's time to come out and play!" Starscream said as he drug his clawed digits down the glass side of Jack's pod, which emitted a harsh screech.

To Breakdown's surprise Jack did not cower, but turned to Starscream and, defiantly, said, "Go ahead. The Autobots were prepared to sacrifice themselves for my planet, I'll do the same for theirs."

"Me too, creepy!" Miko piped up, her words causing Knock Out to look down at her disdainfully.

Raf only gulped out a nervous "uh huh" as he looked up at the menacing, silent stature of Soundwave.

"Well then, why don't we oblige them?" Megatron said, his voice practically dripping with pleasure.

"If my decision dooms the future of the Autobot cause on Cybertron, so be it, but I will never forsake my humans allies. Even for Cybertron-"

"Wait, WHAT?!" The exclamation tore from Breakdown before he even realized he had said it. Every single helm, both Decepticon and Autobot alike, turned on him, the Decepticons bemused and the Autobots confused.

Optimus shot Breakdown a tense look, but Breakdown ignored him, stomping up in front of the Autobot leader.

"Are you fragged in your mind, Prime?" Breakdown snarled, "You would pick these  _Earthlings_ over Cybertron?"

"Now is not the time for this,  _Breakdown_ ," Optimus hissed, his normally calm demeanor shifting as he glared down at Breakdown. "I am the leader of the Autobots and, as your leader, you will follow my orders-"

"No, I  _won't_ ," Breakdown hissed. Breakdown's response seemed to surprise Optimus, for the large mech raised one brow ridge in surprise, but Breakdown wasn't finished. "You may be the leader of these fools, but you are not  _mine_. I won't blindly follow a leader ever again-" Breakdown glared at Knock Out when he said this "-especially if they are choosing humans over their own species. But do what you want, you  _are_ the leader. Don't forget what you said about what Megatron would do if he got the Omega Keys."

With that Breakdown turned and stomped past Optimus and the Autobots, stopping a ways beyond the Omega Lock control device. Breakdown turned and watched the Autobots.

No mech moved for a few moments, until Optimus turned the Star Saber in his servo and slammed it into the hard metal surface of the Omega Lock's platform. Arcee, Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Bulkhead all threw the Relics they had been using for the battle alongside the Star Saber.

"Now, if you please, the Omega Keys," Megatron urged. The Autobots hesitated for a few moments, so Megatron turned his gaze to Knock Out, who had walked up on his left. "One at a time."

Knock Out paused a bit in front of Megatron with Miko's pod and signaled towards Bulkhead. "You first big guy."

Bulkhead hesitantly looked towards Optimus and the Autobots, then to Knock Out then back to the Autobots, where Optimus gave him a small nod. Silently, Breakdown willed Bulkhead to refuse, but Bulkhead returned the nod and walked towards Knock Out, Omega Key in his servo.

"If I don't get the girl, I'll make you eat this Key," Bulkhead growled when he reached Knock Out, dropping the Key in the Decepticon medics servo.

Knock Out smiled, then passed over Miko's pod, saucily saying, "You're welcome," before Breakdown's former ally walked away from Bulkhead.

By the time Bulkhead was turning back with Miko, Bumblebee was already approaching Soundwave, who had walked up to meet the Autobot scout. At the same time Soundwave and Bumblebee exchanged the Omega Key and Raf, Bumblebee trilling at Soundwave angrily.

Next came Starscream but he stopped at Megatron, and waited. Megatron wheeled his gaze to Optimus.

"If this human was important enough to be trusted with the Matrix of Leadership, he's worth  _two_ Omega Keys," Megatron growled.

Optimus turned his gaze to Arcee and Smokescreen and nodded to each in turn. Both Autobots strode forward with their Omega Keys, which Starscream responded to by placing Jack's pod to the ground and aiming his arm rockets towards the Autobots.

"No, tricks, Keys please," Starscream said, then splayed his servos out invitingly. Arcee and Smokescreen handed the Omega Keys off to Starscream, and Arcee bent down and picked up Jack's pod.

The sound of a Space Bridge opening drew Breakdown's attention away from the Autobot and Decepticon proceedings, and to his right, where a wave of Vehicons burst through the Bridge. Vehicons surrounded the Autobots, and a small group surrounded Breakdown. Breakdown growled and tesned up, but he waited.

With the Autobots subdued, Megatron held up one Omega Key, which had begun to glow. "Now witness as a new era dawns on Cybertron." With those words, Megatron pushed the Omega Key into a slot inside the control column, Starscream, Soundwave and Knock Out following close behind with their Omega Keys. A golden light pulsed out of the control, though it faded away into a holo of a blue circle. The four massive pillars began to glow, the blue substance inside the ring thrumming with a low hum as it too began to glow.

"Behold, the age of the Decepticons!" Megatron's shout echoed through the Omega Lock, which Breakdown noticed made some of the Vehicons surrounding him shiver notably.

Megatron pressed something on the holo of the Lock's control and, every mech, turned and watched as a jet of the substance from the circle spewed from the ring and hit an old, destroyed building. The building began to glow and then a burst of white light blinded Breakdown momentarily, but once it had vanished the building had been repaired fully.

"Whoa…" Breakdown heard one of the Vehicons near him mutter.

"Shiny," came Knock Out's response.

"You have what you want, Megatron," Optimus began, "this conflict is between Autobots and Decepticons. Allow me to return the humans to Earth."

_Not gonna happen._

"Oh, I wouldn't recommend it," Megatron said, turning to face Optimus fully, "They would be a lot safer here."

 _What does he mean_ …

But Megatron answered Breakdown's thoughts when he turned to Starscream, "Is the Space Bridge ready?"

"Per your instructions, Lord Megatron," Starscream simpered, bowing to Megatron.

"Excellent," Megatron said, facing Optimus once more, "Why rule only one world, when I can rule two?"

With that the sound of a sharp tear announced the opening of a Space Bridge above the Omega Lock's ring. The liquid began to pulsate, and then a huge beam of the substance burst into the Space Bridge.

 _Megatron is trying to Cyberform Earth_ , Breakdown realized. Wearily, Breakdown glanced towards the Autobots, unsurprised to see all of them staring up at the ring, horrified.

"Such raw power! What should I call my new domain?" Megatron pondered, "New Koan? Or perhaps,  _Gilded Earth_?"

 _Oh, that's cold_ , Breakdown thought.

The sudden laughter of Megatron, Knock Out and Starscream snapped Breakdown's attention to them. But then something pulled his attention to Optimus. The Autobot leader suddenly moved, his bladed servos slicing through two of the Vehicons standing guard, and ran towards the Star Saber.

Optimus ripped the saber from where he had pierced it into the ground then spun in a circle, sending a wave of energy into a group of Vehicons that had charged towards him, the wave sent them crashing to the ground near Megatron.

Megatron let out a fierce roar and pulled the Dark Star Saber from his back, charging towards Optimus. The two's Sabers clashed, but Optimus had the advantage for Megatron's Dark Star Saber bounced off of Optimus' Star Saber, and then Optimus swung the Star Saber down, cutting Megatron's arm clean off.

Optimus charged on relentlessly, racing towards the control column of the Omega Lock, where Starscream, knock Out and Soundwave began shooting back at him. But Optimus deflected each with his Star Saber, then dodged one of Starscream's missiles before kicking the Decepticon to the ground and leaping off of Starscream-

The Star Saber plunged into the Omega Lock's control and a fiery explosion sent every mech flying.

The only thing Breakdown could hear was a high pitched buzzing as he slowly got to his feet, scanning around to see Vehicons strewn across the ground and, only a few feet away, Smokescreen lying prone on the ground.

Breakdown moved up to Smokescreen and picked up the young Autobot by one of his door wings, all the while with the deafening ringing being the only thing he could hear. A few feet away, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were getting to their feet, the human's pods still in their servos.

Faintly, Breakdown heard his name, so he looked down to where Smokescreen had finally started to move. Breakdown nodded to Smokescreen and let go of him once Breakdown was assured the mech could stand. Finally, the ringing began to fade, and with it something caught Breakdown's optic.

There, striding through the flames was Optimus, Star Saber dragging across the ground. Rage boiled in Breakdown's systems but he snapped it back as Optimus approached him and the Autobots.

"Optimus," Arcee began but Optimus ignored her completely, instead the Prime contacted Ratchet, asking for a Space Bridge back to the Autobot base.

The Space Bridge opened behind them, and Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were quick to run through it. Breakdown followed behind them, with Smokescreen and Optimus coming right after him.

Breakdown pushed past Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee as the Bridge opened up into the base, even ignoring Ratchet's incredulous look as he, fuming, moved as far away from the Autobots as he could, though he still kept his optic on them.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked, but none of the Autobots answered him. Any other time Breakdown would have, for he had come to enjoy Ratchet's company, but he could not bring himself to talk with any Autobot. Not after what Optimus had done.

"Somebody say something," Ratchet begged.

"Hh… Optimus… destroyed the Omega Lock," Bulkhead finally explained.

"What," Ratchet's voice cracked as he staggered away from Optimus, "You did wha-"

"What was necessary," Optimus began, "There was no time for another prolonged battle. Not with Earth in imminent danger."

"Earth, Earth, Earth,  _Earth_ ," Breakdown snarled, his voice snapping the attention of every Autobot to him. Breakdown got to his pedes, and stomped up to the gathered Autobots.

"All you care about is Earth, Prime, and its filthy, fleshling inhabitants," Breakdown growled, "You didn't even seem to think twice about what destroying our only chance at reviving our planet. You are  _selfish_ , Prime. Did you even think to ask your Autobot pals, what they would have liked to do, instead of destroying the Omega Lock? No, you didn't. And you never will,

"You chose these three humans above your own race, and you see no problem with it. I would have let them die, because I'm not blinded by a love for humans like you are. And  _that_ is what makes you weak," Breakdown snapped as he turned and stomped further away from the Autobots.

"Optimus… Why did you destroy our only chance at restoring our home? Optimus, we needed that." Ratchet's voice was weary with age, but his words drew Breakdown to watch the Autobots exchange silently.

"You weren't there Doc," Smokescreen interjected, "And it's not your place to second-guess a battlefield decision."

"It most CERTAINLY is!" Ratchet snarled, his words causing Smokescreen to startle back in shock. "There  _had_ to be another way."

"It wasn't that simple, Ratchet," Jack interrupted.

"Megatron was using the Omega Lock to attack the Earth," Raf stated.

"Optimus  _saved_ our planet!" Miko snapped, her words causing a snarl to thrum from Breakdown's engine.

"What about  _ **our**_ planet!" Ratchet retorted, "All of our struggles and Energon spilt, and countless sacrifices, for  _nothing_?!"

"Right decision or wrong, what's done is done," Arcee growled, "And we have another problem here, on this world, the 'Cons just changed the rules when they put Jack, Miko and Raf into play."

Ratchet said nothing in response, but Breakdown noticed how the medic's optics shifted from disbelief, to cold outrage.

The  _bwoop_ of an incoming transmission cut off anything any of the other Autobots might have said, and turned all of their attention to the HUDs.

" _Prime! The Pentagon is preparing to go DEFCON 1, I need to know what we are dealing with."_ It was Agent Fowler, not that that came to much surprise.

"To what do you refer, Agent Fowler?" Prime asked.

" _Maybe you should step outside and see for yourselves."_

Optimus shuttered his optics then looked down at ratchet, "Ratchet, watch the children."

Ratchet did not nod, but Breakdown did notice how the medic looked away in utter defeat as the three humans glanced at each other, bewildered.

Optimus walked towards the lift that went to the outside part of the base, with Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Smokescreen following after him. Breakdown ignored them, though he did watch them ascend to the top.

Ratchet sighed heavily and turned back to his HUDs, burying himself into its datalogs. Breakdown turned all the way around and came closer to Ratchet, stopping when he saw the looks the three humans were giving him.

"What?" He snapped at them, glaring down at them with utter contempt.

"Uh, nothing," Jack said, hastily glancing back at Miko, who looked furious. Miko shoved Jack out of the way and glared up at Breakdown.

"I thought we were friends-"

" _Friends_? HA! You must be senile, human," Breakdown snarled, interrupting Miko, who quivered under his withering gaze, "We aren't friends, and we never were. I mean what I said. Fortunately for you three worthless wastes, I wasn't the one making the decision."

The three humans said nothing more to Breakdown, though they did move closer to Ratchet, who didn't even notice them.

A sudden explosion of noise from the top of the base snapped Breakdown and ratchet's attention to the lift, then to each other for the briefest of moments. Another explosion of noise shook dust from the ceiling forcefully.

"What's happening?" Jack asked, though neither Breakdown or Ratchet could answer him.

Breakdown heard the heavy steps of Optimus behind him and moved away, closer to the Ground Bridge control panel.

"What's going n out there?" Ratchet asked Optimus.

"The Decepticons have invaded Jasper," Optimus explained.

"And Fowler seems to think he can hold them off," Bulkhead added.

"But what do we do?" Raf shrieked as another, heavier explosion rocked more dust from the base's roof.

" _Prime, reinforcements have just arrived!"_

"Agent Fowler, your military cannot prevail against the-" Optimus began but a voice Breakdown recognized easily, interrupted him.

" _Didn't think I would let Team Prime have_ all  _the fun, did ya?"_

Bulkhead let out a raucous laugh, before saying, "It's Jackie!"

"Wheeljack?" Ratchet retorted, bewildered, "But- How did you?"

" _I picked up a strange energy surge. Hope you don't mind the company_." Wheeljack said, his voice unusually soft.

"No, it's just that… after everything… well-"

" _We're still on the same team Doc. Always will be!"_ Wheeljack's comms shut off after that, though Breakdown didn't miss the smile that ever so slightly etched itself across Ratchet's faceplate.

Prime suddenly walked up to the opening of the Ground Bridge, drawing the attention of everyone in base to him. "Ratchet, prepare to Bridge everyone out of here."

"We're  _abandoning_ the base?" Ratchet asked, incredulous.

"The base is lost. Wheeljack and Fowler can only buy us time to escape. Bumblebee, Rafeal, you will depart first," Optimus said.

"You are splitting us up?" Raf asked, shocked.

"Shouldn't we stick together?" Jack suggested, though his tone was hopeless.

"All for one and one for all?" Miko added in as she clasped her hands together, eyes begging.

"We must disperse to avoid capture, until we can regroup and launch a counter attack. Survival is our only priority now," Optimus said, his gaze traveling to each being inside the base, even Breakdown.

"Fine," Ratchet muttered, then moved hurriedly to the Ground Bridge control panel. Breakdown moved out of his way and watched as Ratchet activated the first bridge and Bumblebee drove through it.

Ratchet sighed and scrambled the coordinates to a new location as Bulkhead drove up in his alt mode to the base of the Ground Bridge.

Arcee and Jack pulled up alongside Bulkhead for a brief moment then Bulkhead was gone, and a new set of coordinates were rearranged for the Bridge.

Jack looked back at Optimus and ratchet one last time before he, and Arcee, drove through their Bridge.

"You next, Breakdown," Optimus ordered. Breakdown looked towards him briefly then, without a second glance back, transformed into his alt mode and vanished through the Bridge.

* * *

Breakdown's Bridge dropped him off in a beautiful meadow of lush green grass and trees, rimmed by snow studded mountains. But he didn't even notice it. His mind was occupied by the destruction of the Omega Lock, and so much more. He was never going to go back home. Ever. All for those three, horrible  _humans_. And then there was his injury, which he was still aching from the loss of his original legs, and the new ones were beginning to feel like they were falling apart already.

 _I was such an idiot to believe that Optimus would put our home above the humans,_ Breakdown's thoughts raged like a typhoon as he walked away from the open meadow, towards the mountains, hoping for shelter. There were always caves in mountains and he needed to take a break and rest.

The trek up the mountain was agonizingly slow, as Breakdown's makeshift legs were definitely beginning to feel the strain from so much work after so little recovery time, and he was  _tired_. Snow began to fall from the sky, the cold snowflake relieving on Breakdown's burning chassis, the cold clearing some of his thoughts long enough for him to spot a cave just ahead.

Relieved, Breakdown moved towards it, collapsing against the wall of the cave once he had reached it. Stasis took hold of Breakdown before he had fully settled in, and soon he was fully in recharge.

* * *

"What happened to him?" A soft voice pulled the blue mech from his stasis.

Slowly, with his makeshift legs still aching, Breakdown pulled himself up to see who it was he had heard. Quickly, Breakdown shook his helm to clear the lingering darkness still gripping to his processor than turned his helm up to look straight up into the five pairs of cold optics.

It was Dreadwing and four Vehicons.


	22. Chapter 22

"Oh, scrap," Breakdown swore. Hurriedly, Breakdown scrambled to his pedes, shoulder cannon activating as he backed away from the five Decepticons.

"Easy, Breakdown," Dreadwing urged, "We aren't here to make any problems."

Breakdown quirked a brow ridge up, "How do I know that can believe you?"

Dreadwing sighed before reaching for the cannon stabbed to his back, which made Breakdown leap back even faster than before, and then dropped the weapon to the ground. "Take my word however you want, Breakdown, but, on my honor, I am not here to fight."

Breakdown glanced between Dreadwing and the four flyer Vehicons, all of whom were watching Breakdown curiously, before he shook his helm and sighed. "Sorry," Breakdown muttered as he deactivated his shoulder cannon and loosened his tense stance.

"How'd you find me?" Breakdown asked.

"We detected your signal a bit ago," one of the Vehicons explained, "and Dreadwing ordered us to find out who, or what, it was, since our scanners couldn't tell us if it was Decepticon or Autobot."

Breakdown turned to Dreadwing who was silently watching him, "So, you are still a Decepticon then, Dreadwing?"

"No."

Dreadwing's short reply surprised Breakdown. "What? What do you mean by that?"

"It means that I am not a Decepticon, nor are these four Vehicons."

"But… Wait, seriously?" Breakdown asked, still confused. Dreadwing sighed then turned and stared out at the slowly darkening sky.

"I did go back, as I had planned to kill Starscream for what he did to Skyquake," Dreadwing sighed, "But I realized killing Starscream in the condition he was, would not honor my brother nearly as much as defeating him in full health would. And, I thought about what you had said. The Decepticons truly are not what they once were. Knowing my brother died for a cause that is a shell of its former self, it did not sit well with me. I fled the  _Nemesis_ , for lack of a better term, for I could tell Megatron did not trust me and I could not trust myself to leave Starscream in one piece while I was there.

"I would not have seen this if not for what you said to me though, so I thank you, Breakdown. I was blind, and you helped me see."

"You're welcome, I guess? And what about these four?" Breakdown asked, pointing to the four Vehicons behind Dreadwing.

"These four tagged along with me. They were tired of working for Megatron."

"Yep!" One of the Vehicons - Breakdown had realized he didn't know these Vehicons, surprisingly - said. "Yosemite noticed Dreadwing leaving, told us and we took the chance to get off the  _Nemesis_  by following him. I'm Skystrider, the helicopter-alt is Pillar, and Mortar. We all left because we had grown tired of how we, as soldiers of the Decepticons, were treated."

"Yeah, it sucked," the one Skystrider had pointed out as Pillar snapped, arms crossed over her purple chestplate.

"Quick question," the one named Yosemite interrupted, "We were scouting when our scanners picked up a massive energy surge, unlike anything we've ever seen. Do you have any idea what that was?"

"Yeah, I know what that was. It was Megatron trying to Cyberform Earth from this device called the Omega Lock on Cybertron."

"The Omega Lock?" Dreadwing asked, optics blazing with too many emotions for Breakdown to read. "What is that? And how do you know this happened?"

Breakdown sighed, then explained all that had happened. The Omega Keys and the Omega Lock's connection, the kids getting captured and him getting wounded, the journey to Cybertron, Megatron attempting to Cyberform Earth and then how Optimus had destroyed the Omega Lock, and any chance of them reviving their planet.

The whole time he spoke, Dreadwing was silent, though his optics narrowed when he heard about the destruction of the Omega Lock, and Yosemite and Mortar were speechless while Skystrider and Pillar both grumbled unhappily to each other under their breaths.

"It saddens me greatly to know that the fate of our planet has been sealed… for the fate of the humans' planet," Dreadwing muttered, his servos tightening into fists subtly.

"I  _know_ ," Breakdown said bitingly, "But then, what can you expect from the leader of the Autobots. His thoughts have  _never_ been for the good of his own species, not since he landed on Earth."

"I wish Megatron had successfully Cyberfromed this horrible planet," Pillar, the only femme of the four Vehicons, muttered.

"Earth isn't that bad, Pillar, they have  _great_ music! If you listened to more music you would like Earth more!" Skystrider piped up.

Mortar nodded agreement to her words, but Breakdown couldn't find himself agreeing. He hated the humans on this planet, not really the planet itself. No planet deserved the destruction that had been wrought on Cybertron, not even Earth.

"I just wish Megatron had fixed our planet. His thirst for power, and revenge against Optimus, made him forget about Cybertron," Breakdown said quietly, and to his utter surprise, Dreadwing nodded in agreement.

Before Breakdown could say anything more he collapsed, his makeshift legs giving no warning as he thudded to the cave floor.

Pillar and Skystrider scampered up to Breakdown, who was doing his best to bite back the roar of agony tearing at his insides.

"Whoa, steady there," Pillar urged him as she and Skystrider held Breakdown steady. Breakdown glanced up to Dreadwing, who had an unreadable expression masking his face.

Dreadwing turned to Pillar and Skystrider. "You two will stay with Breakdown. Yosemite and Mortar you will come with me. We need to find something that we can repair Breakdown with." Once Dreadwing finished he, Yosemite and Mortar took off, the heat from their engines wafting over Breakdown and the two Vehicons.

Breakdown watched after Dreadwing and the Vehicons for a few minutes and then, with a deep, troubled sigh, hung his helm in defeat.

* * *

Quite a few hours had passed since Dreadwing, Mortar and Yosemite had returned with durable metal that they had made into legs for Breakdown. They had found the metal by scrounging from old Cybertronian depositaries dropped by the  _Nemesis_. It wasn't ideal but it was better than nothing. Breakdown had instructed them into the whole process - thanking the Primes for his knowledge of medical procedures - and had finally finished after almost six hours of straight work.

Mortar and Yosemite had stolen tools from a local car repair shop, and in doing so had learned that they were near Great Falls, Montana which was at least a day's drive from Jasper, Nevada. Breakdown could figure that the Autobots, where ever they were, would be trying to go back to the Autobot base, but Breakdown wasn't going to do the same.

 _I can't go back… I can't bring myself to even think of seeing any of them again, not right now at least. Not after they chose the humans over Cybertron_ , Breakdown thought before a yawn of pure exhaustion stole over him. He had been awake for the last two and a half days, and was extremely exhausted, but he couldn't sleep for his thoughts. They plagued him ceaselessly, keeping him awake no matter how much he tried to quench them away.

As the only one awake though, Breakdown was on self appointed guard duty. Shaking his helm, Breakdown turned his gaze to where the five former Decepticons were sleeping within the cave.

Dreadwing was sleeping against the cave wall, his servos clenched into tight fists, as he muttered under his breath something Breakdown could not make out. The Vehicons, meanwhile, had all collapsed on each other, with Skystrider on the top of the pile, snoring loudly.

Slowly, Breakdown got to his pedes, gingerly testing them out as he walked out of the cave. Thankfully, Breakdown's new legs held under his weight, and they didn't hurt too much at the moment.

The night sky was midnight purple, clear of clouds, the only form of light being ghat from a magnificent belt of stars and the moon. There were millions of stars in the sky, some burning bright while others were dull, fading, dying.

_Like Cybertron…_

It suddenly hit Breakdown.

There was no going home. Breakdown had foolishly begun to believe Cybertron would be revived, and now all of that hope was burning up just like the Omega Lock. He would never be able to enjoy the luxuries of Cybertron again. All of the fighting between the Autobots and Decepticons, for  _nothing_!

_All of those deaths, betrayals, friendships lost, made pointless, all because of the_ **humans** _!_

Breakdown wheeled around, smashing his fist into the cave's outer wall with a furious, stricken roar. He pressed his other servo against the hard stone and, if he could cry like the humans, he would. His chassis began to shake, rattling with each wracking sob that escaped from Breakdown.

Breakdown collapsed to the ground with a broken cry just as a storm of rain rolled over the mountain with a crash of thunder. The rain chilled Breakdown to his core as rain streamlined down his chassis.

Lightning lit up the sky and, with its deafening accompaniment of thunder, masked the soul shattering wail tearing from Breakdown.

* * *

The soft, early light of morning woke Breakdown from his fitful sleep. Aching, Breakdown maneuvered to his pedes, giving a quick shake of his chassis to dispense of any water that might have acquiesced on his frame during his rest.

Stiffly, Breakdown moved to the mouth of the cave, glancing into the darkened depths to see Dreadwing and the Vehicons still sound asleep. Breakdown looked to his left, at the valley below the mountain, at the cars traversing a road many miles away.

Life went on for the unsuspecting humans, as it always would, as it always had. They would never know the feeling of abandoning their home and seeing its fate sealed by the servos of one, not all.

Breakdown hated the humans ever more known, for their simplicity and he envied the fact that their planet still thrived.

_If only the same could be said about Cybertron._

The sound of movement inside the cave snapped Breakdown's attention towards the cave, just as Dreadwing strode out from the cave. Dreadwing stopped beside Breakdown and turned his gaze to him.

"How are you faring, Breakdown?" Dreadwing asked, tone level with politeness.

"I'm fine, I guess," Breakdown replied, giving Dreadwing a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders.

Dreadwing gave Breakdown a scrutinizing look before turning his gaze towards the valley. "The Vehicons and I will be leaving today. It is not safe to stay in one place for too long. Would you care to join us in our travels?"

"Uh," Breakdown stammered, surprised by Dreadwing's offer, "But I'd slow you guys down. I'm a grounder, not a flyer!"

"That does not matter, Breakdown."

"Well-"

"Breakdown, I want you around because you do not deserve to go this alone. Megatron will be hunting for you and me and there is safety in numbers. Come with us," Dreadwing said, placing one servo on Breakdown's shoulder. Breakdown hesitated for a moment, but relented with a nod.

"Good. I'll wake the Vehicons, you do what you need to prepare."

"Yes, Dreadwing," Breakdown said, nodding to his new commandeer.

* * *

" _On the road again! Just can't wait to get on the road again-"_

" _Skystrider! Enough of your_ obnoxious  _signing!"_ Pillar roared over the intercoms, interrupting the very happy-go-lucky Vehicon.

" _Ah, come on Pillar! You know you love it when I sing!"_ Skystrider called out, his laughter booming over Breakdown's comms system.

" _No I don't!"_

" _Yes, you do!"_

" _You two are such idiots!"_ Yosemite barked over the comms, but neither Pillar or Skystrider payed much attention to him.

" _No!"_

" _Yes!"_

Skystrider and Pillar's arguing was drowned out by a much calmer voice over Breakdown's comms.

" _How are you doing, Breakdown?"_

"I'm alright, Mortar," Breakdown answered, noting the Vehicon, whose shift it was to keep in close contact with Breakdown, flying aways above him and to the left. "And you?"

" _I'm fine. Happy to be away from the Decepticons and the_ Nemesis _. At least with Dreadwing I don't have to worry about being thrown off the_ Nemesis _,"_ Mortar replied, the distant purple jet banking slightly in the sky as he answered.

"How is Dreadwing, since you mentioned him?"

" _He's not all too bad. He doesn't talk to us too much, and when he does he really only does to order us around. But that is a load better than Megatron or Starscream. And we've only been following him for the last three days!"_

"Well, that's good, at least," Breakdown commentated then fell silent, Mortar seeming happy to do the same as the jet continued to keep in Breakdown's sights.

The sextet of mechs had been on the move since early that morning, and had been on the move for the last three hours, and were only just now passing through the town of Billings, Montana. Breakdown didn't know where they were going as he had let Dreadwing pick. The only thing Breakdown knew was that he didn't want to go anywhere near Nevada. Neither did Dreadwing, considering that they had been heading away from Jasper the whole drive.

Suddenly Mortar dove down from his position above Breakdown, " _Dreadwing says take the next exit, it leads to a dirt road in a half mile."_

"Got it, Mortar!" Breakdown relayed, attention turning to the road signs. Seeing the exit coming up, Breakdown slowed and hooked a sharp right onto a large dirt road. Mortar shot away from Breakdown, curving behind a hill and vanishing. Breakdown came around the hill and pulled to a stop, transforming out of his alt mode as Dreadwing, Pillar, Skystrider and Yosemite landed out of their alt modes.

"What's going on, Dreadwing?" Breakdown asked quietly.

"I caught chatter from a squad of Decepticons coming this way. They will be over this sector in five minutes, so we need to hide and  _fast_ ," Dreadwing urged, his optics scanning the sky, "There! An old mine, we'll stay there."

Breakdown looked behind him to where Dreadwing was pointing. In the hillside was an old, broken down mine entrance, the boards that made up the entrance rotting and crumbling away.

Without a second thought, the six mechs all charged into the mine, ducking all and squishing against each other all nd monster they squeezed into the narrow, low ceilinged mine.

_This is not comfortable._

"Get your pede out of my face, Skystrider," Yosemite hissed from somewhere behind Breakdown.

"Sorr- OUCH! Pillar get your claws off my face!" Skystrider protested loudly.

"Quiet!" Dreadwing snapped, just as a steady thrum of jet engines roared above the mine. Breakdown peeked out, watching as a squadron of Eradicons streaked by, at least half a mile up. Finally the Decepticon patrol vanished and he ducked back into the mine.

"It is clear, let's go," Breakdown hissed, moving out first from the claustrophobic mine, with Dreadwing coming out of the mine next. A rash of swearing and yelling funneled from the Vehicons in the mine, making Breakdown and Dreadwing glance at each other with matching expressions.

Finally, Yosemite and Mortar shuffled out of the mine, Skystrider and Pillar following behind them, all the while arguing. Dreadwing stomped up to the two arguing Vehicons, who didn't notice him at first, and let out a dangerous rumble from his engine. Both squeaked nervously and shot away from Dreadwing, who shook his helm with a long sigh.

"We need to move out. Skystrider, replace Mortar on relay duty," Dreadwing ordered, getting sharp nods from Skystrider and Mortar, "Move out!"

* * *

" _And that was how I got this scar. Pretty exciting, to be frank. Oh! And then, this one time I was on patrol with Knock Out and-"_

"Skystrider,  _please_ ," Breakdown begged, "You've been talking for the last  _four_ hours. I can't-"

" _Ah, come on! One last story? It is a really good one! It's about how me, Knock Out and five other Vehicons got-"_

"NO!"

Finally Skystrider seemed to get the hint as the young Vehicon shut up without another word.

 _He reminds me of Smokescreen_ , Breakdown realized.

Breakdown and the others had been on the move for the last ten hours since seeing the Decepticon patrol near Billings. Dreadwing's directions had taken them down into Utah, on I-40.

It was getting late, and Breakdown was, quite literally, running on fumes.

"Dreadwing?"

" _Yes, Breakdown?"_

"I'm pretty tired, I'm going to need a break. I'm turning off. Skystrider'll tell you where I am," Breakdown finally said as he hooked across the deserted interstate and hit a dirt road that led off into the Utah brush, pulling to a stop at a strange, abandoned dirt oval.

Breakdown let out a large yawn and settled himself, still in his alt mode. He was a half asleep when the sharp sound of engines pulled him out of it. Tiredly, Breakdown glanced to the side, noting Dreadwing and the Vehicons landing, each of them settling in in their alt modes.

Without any words shared between them, the six mechs all fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

"You know, humans are the absolute  _oddest_ creatures in the universe," Pillar observed. The group of mechs were resting inside an abandoned building inside a Colorado town, watching as masses of children swarmed by the weathered building, dressed in varied costumes.

Breakdown was on guard by the door, watching for any sign of Decepticons. Dreadwing was standing in the shadows, so silent he seemed almost to be a statue. In contrast though, all four of the vehicons were busily chatting with each other about what was happening outside.

"What are they even doing?" Skystrider queried, "Humans are odd little buggers."

"I have no idea," Yosemite added quietly, "But does anyone know why humans do any of the weird things they do?"

The Vehicons chatter faded to the distance as Breakdown watched the rush of humans move by, their laughter mixing with the hoots and cheers of others.

"Hey, Breakdown!" Skystrider's call turned Breakdown's attention away from the door and to where the four Vehicons were standing.

"What?"

"Oh, I was just wondering-"

Before Skystrider could finish his sentence, a red hot blast tore through his chest, leaving a gaping hole in his chestplate. Horror struck Breakdown, freezing his pedes to the ground as he stared soundlessly at the Vehicon.

"Help," Skystrider gasped, optics searching helplessly, before he collapsed to the ground, energon pooling out from his wound.

"NO!" Pillar shrieked, lunging towards her fallen friend just as a towering Cybertronian crashed through the roof, crushing Skystrider under its foot. Pillar froze, her chassis shaking as the Cybertronian rose up.

Even with the poor light pooling in from the roof, Breakdown recognized who this Cybertronian was.

"Razortalon," Breakdown whispered, voice shaken as the obsidian black Decepticon walked towards him, ignoring the shots from Pillar, Mortar and Yosemite's blasters pinging off her armor. She only had one target in mind, and unfortunately that was Breakdown.

But that didn't stop her from bodily throwing Yosemite away as he charged her, slashing her sharp talons down Mortar's chestplate and punching Pillar clear across the room without even a second glance to her discarded adversaries.

Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon and growled a challenge to the advancing Decepticon. Razortalon continued her advance, evil laughter pouring from her mouth as she stopped in front of Breakdown.

With unmatchable speed, Razortalon swung her cannon-arm straight into Breakdown, sending him crashing through the door of the building and skidding across the road. Breakdown scrambled to his pedes, ignoring the screaming humans running around him crazily as Razortalon strode out from the building.

Breakdown transformed both his servos into hammer-alts and lunged for Razortalon. Razortalon dodged his first swing, but his second hit her  _hard_. Razortalon roared angrily,slashing her clawed servo towards Breakdown, who ducked down to avoid her attack. One her servo passed over his helm, Breakdown lunged up and swung at the Decepticon again, but she leapt to the side, dodging his attacks.

"Fight!" Breakdown roared as Razortalon leapt to his right, forcing him to turn with her, but she was in his blind spot, and she was faster than him.

The first warning Breakdown had that Razortalon had grabbed him was the agonizing, tearing pain that stemmed from his back. Furiously, Breakdown attempted to fight Razortalon off but she activated her jet engine and blasted off from the ground, leaving Breakdown with no advantage as her sharp talons dug deeper into his backstrut.

Breakdown turned his helm towards her so he could see her fully. Razortalon's entire helm was obsidian black, except for the faint, magma-like glow from her red optics. A crooked, sinister smile curled over her faceplate as she turned her cannon-arm towards the building and, without warning, blasted it to fiery ruin.

"No!" Breakdown shouted, then began to thrash furiously, but the sight of Razortalon's activate cannon pressed against his helm forced him to pause.

"You eluded me for too long," Razortalon growled, her voice sounding like claws dragging down ice, as her cannon began to glow to life-

"Razortalon!" The sound of Dreadwing's shout snapped Razortalon's attention away from Breakdown for one moment, but a very critical one at that. Breakdown, with both servos free, grabbed Razortalon's still charging cannon and shoved it away from him and straight into the triple-changer's chestplate.

Razortalon's optics widened as she realized what was happening but, before she could do anything, her cannon fired, sending her hurtling away and her talons to rip from Breakdown's back. With nothing to hold him in the air, Breakdown fell, limbs flailing as he hurtled closer to the ground-

But Dreadwing was there. Before Breakdown had fallen more than a few feet, Dreadwing dove beneath Breakdown, who landed on Dreadwing with a loud crack. Breakdown scrambled to hold onto the slick metal of Dreadwing's alt mode as the great seeker activated his engine and shot in the direction Razortalon had fallen.

It didn't take long for them to find Razortalon, lying still in a ruined church, sparks flying from a huge hole in her chestplate. Dreadwing hovered a few feet over the ground so Breakdown could slid off him, then transformed out of his alt mode. Both Breakdown and Dreadwing warily approached Razortalon's unmoving form, Breakdown with his shoulder cannon aimed at her helm and Dreadwing his his cannon held taught in his servos.

But Razortalon never moved as the two mechs approached her, not even when Breakdown kicked her chassis harshly. Breakdown turned to Dreadwing.

"Do you think she's dead?"

"Hopefully," Dreadwing hissed.

"But, for added measure," Breakdown hissed before he aimed his shoulder cannon at the Decepticon's helm and fired. The red blast of energy hit right on target, tearing Razortalon's helm to pieces, leaving behind only a pitiful scrap of metal and sparks jetting from her neck.

Breakdown turned to Dreadwing, with a savage flick in Razortalon's direction. "You go find the Vehicons, I'll dispose of this Decepticon's carcass."

Dreadwing nodded, transformed into his alt mode and roared away from the church. Breakdown turned to look at Razortalon, snarling as he begun to drag her away from the ruined church by her arm. It took awhile for Breakdown to drag Razortalon away from the town and where it could be hidden, when a cruel idea hit him.

Bending down to Razortalon's arm he began to fiddle with it until he found what he was looking for. Smile curving over his faceplate, Breakdown pressed the locator button and raced off to the abandoned building that he, Dreadwing and the Vehicons had been sheltering in. When he got to it, the building was still on fire and he couldn't see any of his companions.

"Dreadwing? Yosemite? Pillar? Mortar? Where are you guys?" Breakdown yelled as he leapt into the ruins of the burning building, dodging a falling piece of burning timber as he reached the middle of the building. There, amidst the flames, was a quivering form, shaking and sobbing over Skystrider's still form.

"Pillar?" Breakdown asked softly, moving up to where the femme Vehicon was laid over Skystrider. Pillar looked up at Breakdown, rotor blades sagging on the ground as her visor turned to a dull red.

"Why?" She asked, "Why…"

The fire was growing more in ferocity and, not wishing to become melted scrap, Breakdown pulled Pillar to her pedes.

"Skystrider is gone, Pillar, but if you take him out of this building we can give him a proper burial. Just MOVE!"

Pillar shook at Breakdown's shout but did as he said, transforming into her helicopter alt, magnetized Skystrider to her underbelly and took off, away from the flames. Breakdown did the same, transforming into his alt mode and racing through the flames until he reached a wooded hill where Pillar had landed.

By the time Breakdown had reached the hill though, Pillar had already begun to dig a hole for Skystrider's body. Knowing she would not be coming of any help to himself, Breakdown hurriedly contacted Dreadwing, relief flooding through his spark when he saw three jets zooming his way.

Dreadwing, Mortar and Yosemite all landed, Yosemite and Mortar running to Skystrider's prone form and collapsing to the ground with screams of agony and rage ripping from their vocal processors.

"Once we bury Skystrider, we  _must_ move on. If Razortalon was able to find us, then it is certain any of the other Decepticons could to," Dreadwing said softly, "But for now, we will let them mourn their friend."

Breakdown said nothing but hung his helm in silent vigil, for he was not just mourning the loss of Skystrider's life.

* * *

There was a dullness to the group now, without Skystrider to sing or chatter away amicably. Even though it had been a full day since Skystrider had died, hardly a word had been spoken between the group.

Pillar had only spoken at Skystrider's burial, which had had to be rushed, then said nothing else since. Mortar and Yosemite would only talk when given orders to relay to Breakdown, but aside from that they said nothing. In turn, both Breakdown and Dreadwing had anything much to say at all, both silenced by the loss of another one of their species.

 _And now with no hope of restoring Cybertron, every time a Cybertronian dies, we get that much closer to extinction_ , Breakdown mused to himself, shivering at the thought of the ever lingering fact that Breakdown's species was  _rare_.

Even though Breakdown was beyond the point of exhaustion, they had been on the move since Skystrider's burial, he could not bring himself to rest. Not knowing what he would see in his sleep. Breakdown could not imagine what kind of nightmares would plague him now, and he most certainly was not in favor of finding out.

" _Squadron, we can't go on much longer without rest. Come to these coordinates,"_ Breakdown's comms flashed with the coordinates, as Dreadwing continued talking, " _I'll be waiting."_

" _Affirmative,"_ Yosemite, Pillar and Mortar all responded at the same time.

"On my way," was all Breakdown offered before shutting his coons completely off. Breakdown added the coordinates to his nav computer, then headed that way.

Luckily, Dreadwing's coordinates weren't very far from where Breakdown was and so it did not take him long to reach the area. The coordinates turned out to be those of an empty field, with little protection but for a few abandoned cargo containers.

Dreadwing notice Breakdown, acknowledgments him with a brief nod before turning away as the three Vehicons landed in front of Dreadwing.

"Use these cargo containers for protection for the night, we don't want to be spotted."

Mortar, Yosemite and Pillar moved with tired urgency to one of the three containers, squeezing into it without protest. Dreadwing began to kobe towards one of the remains two containers but Breakdown stopped him by hooking one servo around the blue seeker's arm.

Dreadwing turned his gaze on Breakdown, who let go of his arm almost instantaneously. "Yes, Breakdown?"

"Dreadwing, I can't stay with you guys much longer. Razor talon was searching for me and Skystrider suffered for it. My presence is only endangering you and the Vehicons to further danger. If I leave, hopefully you will be able to go peacefully in your travels with those three on this planet."

Dreadwing bowed his helm, unanswering for a bit of time before turning his full, commanding gaze on Breakdown. "I understand your sentiments, Breakdown."

"Good. I may not agree with what the Autobots did to our home but I have a debt to repay them and going back to the old base is my best option to find them," Breakdown explained.

"When will you leave us?" Dreadwing asked, tone mild.

"Tomorrow, early morning."

Dreadwing pondered for a bit then gave a soft nod to Breakdown. "We will accompany you to your destination. It is not too far from our current location, it won't take us long to get to nevada. But once we are there, we will part ways."

"Of course. Thank you, Dreadwing," Breakdown said, nodding to Dreadwing before he selected the last container, squeezing inside the metal container quietly. He did not savor the thought of returning to the Autobots, but Breakdown would rather go back to them then endanger Dreadwing and the three remaining Vehicons any longer.

 _I'll help the Autobots with what they need, then once that is done, I'll leave. Yeah, I'll leave_ , Breakdown thought as he curled into a comfortable position to sleep, optic shuttering closed as the heavy patter of rain began outside.

* * *

The ground was soaking wet and muggy from the rainstorm that had lasted all night, when Breakdown awoke the next morning, stretching stiffly as he strode out of the cargo container.

"Yuck, I hate mud," Yosemite whined to the right of Breakdown, the squelching sound of pedes walking through mud followed by another round of complaining from the Vehicon.

Breakdown turned towards the Vehicons, quietly observing the three Vehicons struggling to get footing amongst the heavy bog of mud. Pillar finally seemed to give up as she transformed into her helicopter mode and hovered over the mud, rotors whipping the water that had congealed on top of the mud in every direction. A few splatters of grimy water hit Breakdown, the cold water chilling Breakdown down to his core.

Breakdown moved out of range of Pillar's rotorwash, his gaze being drawn away from the Vehicons when Dreadwing walked out of his cargo container, expression serious.

"Pillar, Mortar, Yosemite, we're moving out. I will take relay duty. We are headed to Nevada," Dreadwing ordered, ignoring the groan of displeasure from Pillar.

"Why Nevada?" She asked, transforming out of her alt mode to land indelicately on the muddy ground.

"Because Breakdown will be leaving us. We are escorting him to the Autobot base,and then we will be on our way. Without him."

All three Vehicons while their gazes to Breakdown, their optics clouded with a mix of emotions, from shock, to disbelief, and to confusion.

"Why?" Yosemite questioned Breakdown, who sighed before answering.

"Because my presence is endangering you guys. Razortalon was looking for me, and me alone, and Skystrider suffered for it. I enjoyed traveling with you guys, for the short time I did, and I can not bring myself to see any of you suffer anymore than you already have because of who you are traveling with," Breakdown explained, dodging the hurt looks being shot his way by the three Vehicons.

"Razortalon surprised us, Breakdown, it isn't your fault Skystrider died!" Mortar countered, desperation lingering in his voice.

"I'm sorry."

"But-"

"Mortar," Dreadwing silenced the Vehicon, "it is what Breakdown wishes. We will oblige him and be on our way. No more arguing."

Mortar sighed then backed up, averting his gaze to the ground. Dreadwing glanced towards the rest of the group and signaled the group to move out.

* * *

" _Breakdown?"_ Dreadwing's voice, crackling through Breakdown's comms.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"  _I was wondering. Megatron never told me why you left the Decepticons, and Knock Out would clam up whenever I asked him about you. What made you leave?"_

Breakdown grew quiet at Dreadwing's question, his calm demeanor frosting over guardedly.

"Not much… Some issues with Megatron and Starscream, is all," Breakdown lied, evading the whole truth, as even now, nearly a year after MECH had captured him he still had issues talking about what had happened to him.

"  _I gathered it was something more-"_

"I don't enjoy talking about it, Dreadwing," Breakdown snapped, closing off his comms with a furious rumble of his engine. High above, Dreadwing banked, then dove, zooming up beside Breakdown, matching his speed easily.

"I apologize, Breakdown," Dreadwing said before shooting off into the sky once again.

Breakdown said nothing to Dreadwing, his silence creating a sour note between the two former Decepticons.

* * *

Night had fallen and they still had not reached Jasper, Nevada. They weren't even close, which irritated Breakdown to no end. He was tired and cranky, and luckily there were no other cars on the small interstate Breakdown was driving down.

" _Hey! My scanners just picked up something huge! It's coming our way!"_ Yosemite called.

"Any idea what it was?" Breakdown asked the Vehicon, who was now swerving wildly in the sky.

" _No. It wasn't any signature I knew, and not one registered in the databanks. It could be anyone, or anything,"_ Yosemite reported, his voice growing taut with worry.

"Tell the others. It could be a Decepticon ship for all we know," Breakdown ordered as he too activated his scanner, searching for whatever Yosemite had detected. Yosemite blasted off into the clouds to explain what was going on, a few moments later appearing once again below the clouds with Dreadwing, Mortar and Pillar following his suit.

Yosemite pulled up alongside Breakdown, with Dreadwing flanking him.

" _Yosemite, have you seen any hint of this-"_

A blast of fire cut off Dreadwing's words and, from the sky, a huge creature dove towards them. The creature was lizard-like in structure, with massive, long orange wings, a long hooked tail, and huge, pincered jaws.

" _Oh,_ scrap _!"_ Pillar shrieked, "What is that thing?"

No one answered Pillar as the huge creature banked towards them, its mouth opening as another jet of fire burst from its throat, just missing scorching Dreadwing. Breakdown swerved off the road and activated his cannon, firing it at the strange creature when it flew over him. His shot pinged off the thing's tail with a resounding  _thwack_.

The creature whirled on Breakdown with an enraged roar, then dove towards him. Only by Breakdown slamming on his brakes was he able to avoid the creature's talons, but only by the smallest of gaps. Breakdown fired at it again, and this time the creature was hit by the blasts of Pillar's gun, and Dreadwing's cannon.

The creature let out another vicious roar, then shot up into the sky. Dreadwing, Mortar and Yosemite followed it in close pursuit, firing after the creature. Suddenly, the creature whipped around and dove, wings tucking to its body with a quick snap. The creature opened its jaw and, just as it snapped its wings out to come to a sudden halt, released its jet of flames once again.

Dreadwing dodged the burnin hot blaze, firing back in retaliation, but the creature's armor continued to deflect every single blast and missile sent its way.

" _What can we do?"_ Pillar roared over the comms, " _We can't defeat this-"_

A flurry of blasts slammed into the creature, surprising it and sending it hurtling to the ground. A huge blue ship shrieked overhead and, as it banked around for another shot at the creature, the creature scrambled to its pedes and took off with a heavy windblast from its wings, hurtling away into the dark sky.

The blue ship did not pursue the creature, landing instead a ways from Breakdown, Dreadwing, Yosemite, Mortar and Pillar. Dreadwing slowly, subtly, pulled the cannon from his back and cocked it, aimed towards the unknown ship. Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon and transformed his servos into their hammer modes, waiting, waiting. The three Vehicons all switched their servos into blaster mode too, engines rumbling nervously.

A sudden hiss came from the ship, and slowly a ramp lowered from the ship. Breakdown tensed more, but stopped at the sight of who was walking from the ship.

"Arcee?" Breakdown muttered, optic narrowing as the form of the femme two wheeler grew clearer. It was Arcee, and to his surprise, Wheeljack and Bulkhead, along with an Autobot Breakdown did not know came from the ship.

"These are the Autobots, right?" Dreadwing asked, turning a querying look towards Breakdown, who nodded in response. "Then we must leave. Mortar, Pillar, Yosemite, let's go."

The three Vehicons transformed and blasted away, tearing off into the sky without a second glance. Dreadwing, though stayed, turning to face Breakdown.

"Good luck, Breakdown," Dreadwing said, bowing his helm to Breakdown respectfully. "May you find peace someday."

Breakdown returned the honorable bow to Dreadwing then straightened up. "Thank you, Dreadwing, for all you did for me."

Breakdown held out his servo to Dreadwing, who looked confused for a moment then held out his own and together, they clasped servos and shook. At the same time they released their hold and, slowly, Dreading began to back away from Breakdown.

"Oh, one last thing, Breakdown. Give one to Starscream for me, would you?" Dreadwing said, before turning and transforming into his jet alt and, with a roar of his engine, blasted away into the sky.

"Safe travels, Dreadwing," Breakdown said softly, then turned his back and walked up to the four Autobots, passing by them without saying a word to them.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Wheeljack questioned behind Breakdown.

"Who was that with you?" Arcee growled.

"Where are you going?" Bulkhead asked after Breakdown, who came to a stop, before turning partially towards the Autobots.

"We're wasting time here. Let's go."

* * *

The ship was called the  _Iron Will_ and was piloted by Ultra Magnus, who Breakdown got the impression of being extremely stuck-up. Breakdown had caught up with the Autobots on the  _Iron Will_ , learning that the creature that had attacked him and Dreadwing's group was some kind of Cybertronian dragon, or at least that was what it was according to Jack and Miko. Bulkhead and Wheeljack had encountered the Predacon, and had chased it with Ultra Magnus' help to where Breakdown had been.

It was pure coincidence that they had found Breakdown, though all of the Autobots seemed…  _pleased_ , to have Breakdown with them again. Bulkhead most of all, even Wheeljack, both had voiced that it was nice to have Breakdown back with them. And, deep down, Breakdown had almost felt happy to see them too. The sky was turning to fire as the dawn sun rose slowly, out from the mountains and towards the sky.

Now, the  _Iron Will_ was on a course to the  _Harbinger_ , Breakdown did not know why though. The  _Iron Will_ began to decelerate, gradually lowering until it landed in a large canyon, coming to a full stop with a pressurized yawn.

"Come, soldiers," Ultra Magnus commanded as he stood from the pilot's seat and moved to the lift. Breakdown glanced towards Wheeljack and moved to the lift, careful to stay in the back of the group on the lift. The lift began to shift and touched ground amidst a haze of dust.

Once the dust had faded, two figures became noticeable, Ratchet and Bumblebee, and Raf.

"Raf!" Miko cried as she and Jack leapt from the lift, pulling the small human into a tight hug.

A small smile arced across Ratchet's faceplate at the sight of the Autobots. "You're alive," he breathed, optics brightening as Wheeljack, Arcee and Bulkhead walked off the lift, moving past him with pats on the back and smiles. Ratchet's gaze fell on Ultra Magnus, brow ridges rising in surprise.

"Ultra Magnus…"

"Doctor," Ultra Magnus greeted back, himself moving off the lift. Ratchet didn't notice Breakdown as Ultra Magnus walked up to him, the two older Autobots talking quietly between themselves. Breakdown sighed and shook his helm, unsurprised to not be greeted as the Autobots were.

"New paint job looks nice," Bulkhead's compliment turned Breakdown's attention to where he, Arcee, Bumblebee and Wheeljack were gathered, Bulkhead pointing out how Bumblebee had reversed his colors to pre-dominant black and less yellow.

"Yeah, at least you had something to work with," Arcee sniped, "if I reversed my colors, I'd be pink."

Bumblebee let out a snicker of laughter at Arcee, Bulkhead laughing right alongside Bumblebee.

"Our communications link needs further calibration to be compatible with Autobot frequencies," Ratchet's voice, louder this time than previously, drew Breakdown's attention back to him and Ultra Magnus. "The Ground Bridge, however, is fully operational."

Ultra Magnus looked like he was going to respond to Ratchet when Miko interjected into their conversation.

" _That_ would have come in handy when robo-dragon was trying to eat us for breakfast."

Breakdown pressed a servo to his helm disbelievingly at Miko's words, a groan escaping his mouth as Ultra Magnus gave a surprised scoff.

"The indigenous population of this planet… do they all display the same disregard for authority?" Ultra Magnus' tone was dangerously soft as he gave a cold look to Ratchet.

"No," Ratchet assured, "mostly just Miko."

A sudden, loud roar drew Breakdown, and the others, attention to the sky, where a jet, much like Dreadwing's alt mode, racing towards them. Ultra Magnus immediately activated his blasters, charging forwards as they began to charge.

"No!" "Don't shoot!"

"Calm down, he's with us!" Bulkhead's words finally drew Ultra Magnus to a stop, the commander lowering his blasters slowly as the jet landed. Jack, Miko and Raf ran towards the jet as Agent Fowler and Jack's mother unloaded from inside the jet.

Breakdown turned his attention away from the humans and back to the Autobots.

"The only signals Ultra Magnus was able to isolate are standing right here," Arcee said, looking down at Agent Fowler who had come over to the group.

"Maybe his scanner is faulty," Wheeljack suggested snidely.

"So the kid is unaccounted for," Bulkhead mused.

"Smokescreen Bridged out unaccompanied, only Optimus knows where," Ratchet said, "and Optimus stayed behind, to destroy the Ground Bridge to ensure that everyone else made it to safety."

"I watched the base go down," Agent Fowler said, "no one of thing walked out of there."

"Not that  _we_ could see," Jack's mother said hopefully.

"Even if Prime survived, I'm not sure we can afford to wait for him to show up. Not with Megatron holding our planet at hostage from his high and mighty perch of Darkmount," Fowler said.

"Darkmount?" Breakdown muttered, confused. He had never heard of Darkmount. What was it?

"I would be inclined to agree with the native lifeform," Ultra Magnus said as he strode up between the Autobots, looking down at Agent Fowler, "we must stop Megatron, with or without Optimus Prime."

"And how can we do  _that_?" Breakdown snapped, drawing a disapproving glare from Ultra Magnus. "All we have if the  _Iron Will_ and what few supplies the  _Harbinger_ still has with it. Megatron has that dragon creature and who knows what else."

"We will have to try our best," Arcee growled, shooting Breakdown a frosty glare.

"But our best might not be enough this time," Breakdown snarled, stopping when Ultra Magnus gave him a quiet glare.

"We must do everything in our power to ensure Megatron's downfall, but we will need to be smart about it," Ultra Magnus said, looking at every mech gathered around him.

"Whoa, who put shoulder pads in command?" Wheeljack grumbled, pointing to Ultra Magnus, who frowned openly.

"Uh,  _temporary_ command," Jack added, though his words only elicited a snort of disgust from Wheeljack.

"Ultra Magnus is the only logical choice," Ratchet said, "He was trained by Optimus and served as his commanding officer throughout the war for Cybertron."

"Well, then, if there is no further objection,  _soldier_ ," Ultra Magnus looked down at Wheeljack, "please, follow me." Ultra Magnus wheeled on his pedes, walking back to the  _Ir_ _on Will_ 's lift.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Wheeljack muttered quietly, though he still turned and moved after Ultra Magnus. Breakdown glanced towards Ratchet, who met his gaze wordlessly and followed after the rest of the Autobots.

Once Breakdown and the Autobots had settled on the lift, it advanced back into the belly of the  _Iron Will_. The lift came to a stop and Ultra Magnus walked off it, activating a panel that slid open to reveal an assortment of weapons inside a weapons were guns, and other weapons Breakdown had no idea what they were.

Ultra Magnus turned to the Autobots and, as he moved away from the weapons locker, said, "Autobots, take your pick."

Wheeljack breathed a sigh of appreciation before he moved up to the weapons lock. "Now, you are speaking my language, sir."

"Move swiftly, we don't have much time," Ultra Magnus urged and, outside, the sun finally rose out from the hills and flooded the world with light.


	23. Chapter 23

Breakdown circled around Wheeljack and Bulkhead, engine rumbling with a low, deadly snarl, "Come one, Autobot scum.  _Fight_!"

Wheeljack's swords were drawn, which he would spin and strike against the ground as he circled around Breakdown to his right. Bulkhead's blasters were aimed right at Breakdown, the large green mech's optics narrowed to enraged slivers.

Then, en masse, Wheeljack and Bulkhead lunged for Breakdown. Breakdown swerved to the side, ramming his shoulder into Wheeljack, who stumbled from the brunt attack, pedes slipping out from underneath him. Seeing an opportunity, Breakdown grabbed Wheeljack by his door wing and threw him into Bulkhead, who stumbled back from Wheeljack's weight and collapsed to the ground.

Growling, Breakdown approached the two fallen Autobots, activated his shoulder cannon and aimed it at Bulkhead's chestplate. "You're dead, Bulkhead.  _Again_. Are you even trying to beat me?

"You cheated," Bulkhead protested as Breakdown deactivated his shoulder cannon, helped Wheeljack to his pedes and offered Bulkhead a hand up. Bulkhead grasped onto Breakdown's servo and he yanked Bulkhead up, optic rolling as Bulkhead dusted himself off.

"I didn't cheat, Bulkhead, I told you last time that I'm fighting like a Decepticon would. Wasn't  _that_ the whole point of this training?" Breakdown asked exasperatedly.

"Yeah, but," Bulkhead started but a bored glare from Breakdown changed his opinion, "oh, whatever."

"Again?" Wheeljack suggested, looking towards Breakdown then Bulkhead.

"Nah," Bulkhead decided, "I'm tired of getting punched-"

"Well, I had fun punching you, Bulkhead," Breakdown laughed, Bulkhead's absolutely offended expression only serving to make Breakdown laugh even harder.

"Not funny," Bulkhead pouted, which made Wheeljack start laughing at him too, until Breakdown and Wheeljack were practically crying from laughter. Finally, short of breath, Breakdown and Wheeljack stopped laughing, their gazes turning to each others for a shocked moment.

 _I haven't laughed like that in eons,_ Breakdown realized, which seemed to be the same realization Wheeljack had come to. Wheeljack turned away first, uttering a swift apology to Bulkhead before he moved out of the training room of the  _Harbinger_ as fast as possible.

Bulkhead turned to Breakdown, about to ask him something, but Breakdown hurried out of the training room as fast as he could too.

Once he had gained some distance from the training room and Bulkhead, Breakdown slowed down to a subdued walk. His thoughts wandered to the days before joining the Decepticons, the days when he fought solely for good.

"Breakdown?" The sound of Ratchet's voice, coming from his left, snapped Breakdown from his thoughts and halted his strides.

"Yes, Ratchet? " Breakdown asked, turning to face the medic standing close to him in the cramped hallway of the  _Harbinger_.

"I wanted to check in with you whole I have the chance. The repairs - if you can call them that - I did to your new legs were not made for strenuous travel, and I doubt you've had anyone-"

"Uh, whoa, wait Ratchet," Breakdown urged, getting an irred look from Ratchet, "look, these legs aren't the ones you made me. I had help and made these myself, and they have held up so far."

Ratchet raised a disbelieving optic ridge, forcibly grabbing Breakdown's arm. "Yes, yes," he muttered, "But it is still my duty to check on my patients, especially those dumb enough to perform surgery on themselves! What do Decepticon medic's get taught anyways, by Primus!"

Ratchet began to drag Breakdown away, muttering to himself darkly as they trudged towards the medical bay.

* * *

"Well, that is all I could do with limited supplies and tools," Ratchet explained, frustration bordering at the edge of his voice.

"Ratchet, it's fine. They function well, so I'm happy, okay?" Breakdown said, hoping his words would calm the fretting medic down. Ratchet stopped pacing at least, though he still gave Breakdown a scrutinizing look.

"Fine. Since I can't do any more currently, I'll let it slide," Ratchet grumbled, before turning to glare at Breakdown, "Well? What are you still doing here? Get!"

Flustered, Breakdown scrambled to his feet, nodded thanks to Ratchet and hurried out of the medical bay.

_He's pretty uptight right now… Must be because of Prime and Smokescreen. He must feel like it's his fault that they are missing…_

Breakdown shook his helm and turned to his room, needing sleep for the next day's battle.

* * *

"Autobots, we know we are vastly outnumbered and, despite our munitions, do not currently possess the firepower necessary to compromise the Decepticon citadel."

The Autobots and Breakdown had woken early and were now preparing to attack Darkmount, which Ultra Magnus was currently briefing them on. Breakdown, Bulkhead and Wheeljack where double and triple checking the weapons they had received from Ultra Magnus the day before.

"Uncle Sam's military does, I just can't let them go make a move so long as Megatron's rays guns are pointed at Washington," Agent Fowler said in response.

"Then we must infiltrate Darkmount in order to nullify its fusion cannons," Ultra Magnus decided, the discussion he was having drawing Breakdown's attention away from Bulkhead and Wheeljack.

"The problem is that the fortress is heavily shielded against unauthorized Ground Bridges, even those originating from Decepticon technology," Ratchet said pessimistically.

"Guess we'll have to sneak past enemy lines, Wrecker style," Wheeljack interjected, smashing his servos together with a sharp clank.

"I couldn't deal with  _Wrecker_ style back on Cybertron, and I refuse to deal with it here," Ultra Magnus snapped, eliciting a low growl from Wheeljack. "Now we require of thinning the Decepticon ranks to even the odds, if we are to have any chance of completing this mission. Or of surviving it."

"Oh,  _that_ makes me feel better," Breakdown growled, looking over at Wheeljack, who rolled his optics in agreement.

"But what can we do?" Arcee asked, glancing over to Ratchet, who looked deep in thought.

"Maybe the  _Iron Will_ could be used to draw some of Megatron's forces away- No, that wouldn't be enough," Ratchet surmised, anger sparking through his optics as he suddenly punched the wall of the  _Harbinger_.

Icy claws of shock pierced into Breakdown's spark at Ratchet's unexpected outburst, which every other mech seemed surprised by too.

"You okay, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked the medic, getting only a furious glare in response.

"No, I am not  _okay_!" Ratchet snarled weakly, turning his gaze away from the mechs gathered at the  _Harbinger_ 's control room. "Optimus is gone, Smokescreen is missing, how can you think I am OKAY?"

"Ratchet, calm down," Arcee urged, earning her too another glare from Ratchet. Arcee stiffened at Ratchet's glare and turned away, Bulkhead began to pipe in with ideas, which Ultra Magnus promptly flattened as foolish. Wheeljack fumed and began to yell at Ultra Magnus, something along the lines of "who made you boss?"  _Again_.

Breakdown didn't throw out an idea, instead looking down to the humans, who kept glancing up at the 'bots then to each other. Miko threw her hands in the air and snapped something quietly to jack, who forlornly shook his head.

 _Wait_ …  _The_ humans!  _Of course!_

"I have an idea," Breakdown began,though none of the Autobots seemed to hear him as now they were all arguing, not just Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack. "Uh, hello? I said I have an idea? Oh, that's just great, they still aren't paying attention.  _Typical_."

Sighing, Breakdown glanced down to Miko then, unhappily picked her up by her shirt. Miko tensed up the minute Breakdown had grabbed her, her eyes turning to him warily.

"What, Breakdown?" Miko snapped as he moved her to his optic level, arms crossed with a furious expression.

"Could you do me a favor?"

Miko startled at Breakdown's request, an expression of pure confusion flushing over her face. "What?"

Breakdown sighed, pressing a servo to his faceplate before looking at the female human once again. "I've got a plan for how we can lessen the number of Megatron's forces at Darkmount, but I'm going to need you to help me get the attention of these arguing fools."

Miko's eyes lit up as Breakdown began to explain his plan to her, a devilish smile growing ever wider as Breakdown finished.

"You really want to do this? You're not going to do anything, right?" Miko asked Breakdown. Breakdown gave her a nodded to her first question then glared at her for her second question. He did not want Miko to realize how much he  _didn't_ want to, but if they were going to get anywhere in planning their attack on Darkmount he had to.

Breakdown lowered Miko to the ground, who scampered off for a few minutes, minutes filled with the Autobots  _still_ arguing, so much so that when Miko returned with her guitar, they still were going at it.

Breakdown lowered down onto one knee, watching as Miko unraveled a long cord from her guitar, holding it out to Breakdown once she had fully unraveled the black cord. Breakdown hurriedly hooked the cords into his radio system, cranked the volume setting to its max. Miko glanced up to Breakdown, giving him a thumbs up just as he shut off his audial receptors, and then, with her typical exaggerated flare strummed her guitar.

By the way the Autobots all reacted, Breakdown was  _thankful_ he had decided to shut off his audial receptors, though he quickly snapped them back on and unplugged Miko's guitar from his radio system. Ratchet and Wheeljack were staring at Breakdown, mouths hanging open as Arcee and Bumblebee rubbed at their helms, speechless. Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus were both furiously scrubbing at their helms also, though Ultra Magnus whipped on Breakdown with a threatening rumble from his engine.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Ultra Magnus roared, optics blazing with disgust as Breakdown straightened up to his pedes.

"Did it have to be so loud?" Bulkhead complained, casting an accusatorial look between Breakdown and Miko, both of whom shrugged.

"Yes," Breakdown replied, "it was the only way I was going to get your attention."

"And  _why_ would that be?" Ultra Magnus growled, advancing slightly on Breakdown. Breakdown put one servo on his hip plates and pointed towards the humans. Ultra Magnus stared at them for a while, then looked back at Breakdown. "I do not understand what you are trying to say, soldier."

Breakdown rolled his optic and pointed at the humans one more time. "You have the humans, so why not use them? I suspect Soundwave has their electronic devices tapped so that whenever they use them it alerts the  _Nemesis_ -"

"Of course!" Ratchet suddenly interrupted, drawing every Autobot's attention to him, "Brilliant idea, Breakdown!"

"Uh, Ratchet, I'm confused? What are you getting at?" Bulkhead asked.

"We use the humans as 'bait'! If we Bridge them to random places and then have them use their cellphones, it could draw a few squadrons away from Darkmount. We would Bridge the kids back, of course, but it should be enough," Ratchet said, excitement flush in his voice as he began tapping away at the  _Harbinger_ 's controls.

"I don't know, Ratchet, it could get dangerous," Bulkhead said, followed by a flurry of beeps from Bumblebee.

"Ah, who cares!" Miko exclaimed, "Let's do it!"

* * *

Breakdown, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Arcee, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Ultra Magnus had all gathered in the  _Harbinger_ 's control room. The plan was to send Miko and Jack out to different locations in the United States and then use their phones, which they had learned previously were tapped by the Decepticons, to hopefully draw out a group of Decepticon soldiers. They had sent Miko to New York and, ironically enough, Jack to the gas station where Breakdown had fought against Bulkhead and Arcee alongside Airachnid.

Meanwhile, Agent fowler and a squadron of jet fighters were waiting at a nearby base for confirmation of their attack on Darkmount as successful, as they were to bomb Darkmount.

"There's five Decepticons closing in on Jack!" Raf said, pointing to the HUDs, just as it warned of five Decepticons converging on Jack's position.

"Not anymore," Ratchet replied, pressing a button on the HUDs control panel which activated a Ground Bridge. Jack leapt through the Ground Bridge, landing on the ground with a soft  _thump_ , then snapped a thumbs up to Ratchet.

Ratchet nodded, then pressed two digits to his helm, "Miko, it's your turn."

Another five Decepticon signatures appeared moments after Ratchet had contacted Miko, and then Ratchet reopened the Ground Bridge.

A moment or two later, Miko leapt through the Ground Bridge, turning to the Ground Bridge as it vanished and said, "I really could have used that pizza."

"I've tapped into the Decepticon communications network, are you ready Jack?" Ratchet asked, gaze turning to Jack, who had moved up next to Miko.

Jack cleared his throat and, with an attempt at a deeper voice said, "Decepticon command, do you read me?"

Breakdown quirked an optic ridge, as Ratchet and Ultra Magnus just stared at Jack, Ultra Magnus' expression turning to thinly veiled disbelief.

"I remain unconvinced," Ultra Magnus said cooly.

"I will enhance your performance with static," Ratchet said with a slight shrug of his shoulderplates. Jack nodded in response, moving closer so Ratchet could pick him up and place him on the control panel.

"Decepticon command, do you read? We are under Autobot attack!" Jack repeated through the comms. They only had to wait a few minutes before a large swarm of Decepticon signatures swarmed on the location Ratchet had put into Jack's transmission.

Seeing that, Ultra Magnus wheeled to the assembled mechs, frame stiff. "Autobots, lock and load!" Ultra Magnus cocked the large gun in his servos as Bumblebee activated his new shield device and gun, Bulkhead charged his cannon, Arcee pulled out her small gun, Wheeljack cocked his gun and Breakdown charged the large Gatling cannon he'd picked from Ultra Magnus' cache.

A Ground Bridge opened up behind the Breakdown and the four other Autobots then, at once the five Cybertronians charged through the Ground Bridge.

* * *

"So  _that's_ Darkmount," Breakdown muttered as the Ground Bridge shut behind the five mechs, leaving them a view of a dark tower that seemed to stretch miles into the dark sky with dark clouds flanking its sharp structure.

"It's bigger than I imagined," Bulkhead whispered to Breakdown's right, eliciting a grunt of agreement from Wheeljack.

" _Enough chatter you three!"_ Ultra Magnus shouted over their comms.

"Let's go," Wheeljack whispered, signaling Breakdown and bulkhead to follow him. The three former Wreckers moved towards the front of the looming fortress as swiftly and quietly as they could.

"There!" Bulkhead said, pointing to a cluster of rocks they could use as cover near the tower. Breakdown ducked down against the rock, optic shifting to Wheeljack as the scarred Autobot pulled one of his grenades from his belt and lobbed it towards Darkmount entrance.

The grenade did not hit Darkmount but the hard ground outside of the entrance, leaving behind an explosion of bright blue energon and clumps of rock.

"Fire in another hole!" Wheeljack called as he chucked another grenade at Darkmount, this one hitting only a small ways closer to Darkmount then the first, leaving behind the same effect as the first grenade.

Once the explosion was clear, Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead charged towards Darkmount entrance. The three of them had almost reached the entrance when Breakdown picked up the faint, but familiar sound of Eradicon engines diving towards them.

"Above us!" He shouted, skidding to a halt as red energy burst hit the ground around him. Breakdown snarled and, aimed his gatling cannon up at the swiftly advancing Eradicons and fired. One Eradicon got hit, its wing flying from its chassis and sending it crashing into another Eradicon. The two Eradicons vanished in a fiery explosion as the sound of Bulkhead's new gun fired near Breakdown, another Eradicon falling, this time to Bulkhead's weapon.

Breakdown wheeled to the left, still firing as Wheeljack pulled out one of the other weapons he had taken from Ultra Magnus' cache and activated it, a long, energon charged whip spooling from its hold. Wheeljack swung the whip, catching three Eradicons in its devastating, charged wake. All three exploded immediately, leaving behind only the smell of acrid, burning metal.

For every Eradicon Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead destroyed, two more seemed to replace it, in an endless stream of silver. Breakdown fired a few more rounds of the gatling cannon then, as shots from the Eradicons guns hit around him, switched into his alt mode and charged for Darkmount's entrance, Wheeljack and Bulkhead driving right alongside him.

The Eradicons chased after the three former Wreckers, making each of the three have to continuously dodge fiery hot blast after fiery hot blast that landed close to them, too close for comfort. They were nearing the entrance, only a few more yards, but the Eradicons-

 _Let up?_  The Eradicons attacks had suddenly halted and, as Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead transformed out of their alt modes, raced past them and back towards Darkmount, disappearing into the dark clouds just as a deep roar echoed from the top of Darkmount.

High above, on an outcropping pillar where the  _Nemesis_ was resting, came the dragon Cybertronian, its mandibles jaws opening with another roar. Wheeljack snapped a look towards Breakdown and Bulkhead as the huge creature opened its orange wings and took flight.

As it dove towards them, all three began to fire their weapons towards it, Breakdown with the heavy gatling cannon, Wheeljack with his servo gun and Bulkhead with his gun. The dragon dodged each blast with surprising finesse for such a large creature until a round of shots hit it from the side, knocking it off kilter, where none of the three's weapons could reach.

Ultra Magnus shot overwhelm with the  _Iron Will_ , drawing the dragon's attention away from Breakdown and his companions and, with a booming screech, chased after the  _Iron Will_. The dragon was closing in to fast on the  _Iron Will_ , its underbelly beginning to glower hot with flames as it grew closer and closer to the  _Iron Will_.

"Come on, Magnus!" Bulkhead shouted just as Ground Bridge opened up in front of the  _Iron Will_. Ultra Magnus and the  _Iron Will_  shot upwards, just missing the Ground Bridge, but the dragon was not able to dodge the Ground Bridge, vanishing into it without even a roar.

"Yes!" Wheeljack shouted, "Take that lizard-breath!"

High above the  _Iron Will_  banked around, diving towards Darkmount as a static crackle came over Breakdown, and the others, comms. " _Ultra Magnus to Stealth Team, status report!"_

" _Having a little trouble reaching the objective,"_ Arcee replied, the sound of guns being fired distant from her comms, " _Security is tighter than anticipated, sir."_

" _Keep them occupied!"_ Ultra Magnus commanded as he piloted the  _Iron Will_ to the open spire of Darkmount. The  _iron Will_ hovered over the spire's platform for a few moments then blasted away.

The respite from the Eradicon attack forces did not last long as, with the dragon gone, they came back in droves, guns firing. Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead all formed into a tight circle, backs to each other, as they fired their weapons into the writhing mass of Decepticon forces.

It seemed like there were more Eradicons than before, as no matter how many Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead shot down, it did not seem to help.

The sudden sound of a charging cannon was the only warning the three were afforded, though they all turned at the same time to see a huge purple Decepticon tank racing towards with its cannon charing, before they were hit with the Decepticon's blast. The powerful blast created an explosion right under their pedes, sending all three flying and crashing to the ground with mixed cries of pain.

Breakdown struggled to his pedes, but collapsed into darkness beside his two fallen companions.

* * *

Pale, dawn light seeped into Breakdown's optic as he woke from the darkness, a pained groan escaping his mouth as he slowly attempted to struggle to his pedes. But something stopped him, something cold and sharp pressed into his helm. Breakdown peeked up, noting the Vehicon with its gun pressed to his helm standing over him.

Breakdown growled threateningly to the Vehicon, earning himself a hard whack over his helm from the Vehicon's gun. Angrily, Breakdown turned his gaze away to the vehicon, relieved to see Wheeljack and Bulkhead, both in his predicament, but still alive. Yet, all three were surrounded by Vehicons and a hulking purple Decepticon Breakdown swore he knew and, by the sound of the pedes approaching from his back, Arcee and Bumblebee had been caught too.

Suddenly Bumblebee let out a shrill round of trills, drawing the attention of the hulking Decepticon to the sky. Breakdown glanced towards the sky just as something large shot overwhelm, headed straight towards Darkmount.

"What was that?" The Vehicon guarding Breakdown asked the hulking Decepticon, drawing his attention away from Breakdown fully.

The Decepticon did not respond to the Vehicons question as his gaze was turned solely to Darkmount, his one red optic emotionless.

No one made a sound, not the captured or the capturers, as if they were all waiting for word on whatever it was that had captured their attention. With the Decepticons attention taking away from him, Break Down slowly got to his pedes, Wheeljack and Bulkhead silently doing the same.

Static crackled over Breakdown's comms, followed by an unusually excited Ultra Magnus saying, " _All units, Optimus has returned! I repeat, Prime is alive and well!"_

Surprise snapped through Breakdown's entire core, driving cold, icy nails into his spark. He didn't know whether to feel elated or pissed but, at the moment he was feeling more elated than anything, at least for now. Movement from Bulkhead caught Breakdown's optic, snapping his attention to the Autobots as they all shared a knowing nod between themselves.

Realizing what was coming, Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon and, as everyone of the Autobots moved at the same time, fired a blast right at the Vehicon guarding him. The Vehicon had not seen the blast coming, so he could to dodge as the red energy blast cut through the Vehicons chestplate.

As the Vehicon fell, Breakdown turned his sight on the towering Decepticon and charged, Bulkhead and Wheeljack appearing beside him on each side as the Decepticon began to fire at them. All three ducked from the blasts, Bulkhead smashing one of his maces into the Decepticons chest, Wheeljack leapt and kicked the Decepticon in the chest just as Breakdown rammed his shoulder into the Decepticons chest. The Decepticon stumbled back from the combined barrage, cannon raising on instinct and firing, which Breakdown only dodged by a millimeter. Breakdown snarled and leapt for the Decepticon, just as Wheeljack slashed his swords down the Decepticons chestplate, which he retaliated to by punching Wheeljack away from him.

Bulkhead and Breakdown hit the Decepticon at the same time, Breakdown with his hammers and Bulkhead with his maces, the brute force of their attack nearly tripping the Decepticon. But the Decepticon steadied himself, then smashed Breakdown in the helm with his cannon, sending him skidding backwards, next to Wheeljack.

Bulkhead shook his helm, clearing the daze from his sight, then tesned up once again, alongside Bulkhead and Wheeljack. Old instinct took over Breakdown as he turned and gave a rapid set of signals,  _Wrecker signals_ , to Bulkhead and Wheeljack, both of whom nodded in understanding.

Breakdown charged right towards the Decepticon with a roar as Wheeljack and Bulkhead fanned out, the three converging on the tank Decepticon at the same time in a tight pincer movement. The Decepticon was firing his cannon but Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead duck, wove and battled like seasoned fighters, as if they had been fighting alongside each other for eons.

The Decepticon fought back, once in awhile catching Breakdown, Bulkhead and Wheeljack with a wild punch, but it was swiftly becoming a losing battle for the Decepticon.

The sudden sound of an explosion, from Darkmount, snapped Breakdown's attention up to the tower, where fire was bursting from the top spire.

" _Autobots! Clear the area!"_ Ultra Magnus' command snapped Breakdown's attention away from Darkmount, a quick glance from Arcee and he, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee transformed and raced away, getting as much distance between them and Darkmount as possible for coming fast was Agent Fowler's jet squadron.

Breakdown angled his mirrors, watching as missiles from the jets crashed into Darkmount, riddling the tower with rapid explosions. Breakdown turned his mirrors away from Darkmount as the imposing tower crumpled to dust.

* * *

"On behalf of the President and the Joint Chiefs, I thank you all for selfless heroism in defense of this planet. I'm only sorry that the world can't yet know of your undying dedication, because I for one owe you my life, my liberty and my future," Agent Fowler said, snapping a salute to the gathered Autobots and Breakdown,before turning and walking away.

They were at Fowler's military base, given to them as their own new base since the destruction of the Autobot's original base. It was a lot more crammed in this base, so much so that it felt like one couldn't walk anywhere without hitting into something.

Breakdown hated it.  _But it's better than being dead_ , he thought, a bit bitingly though.

"Sir, I am honored to relinquish command of the Autobots to you," Ultra Magnus' words drew Breakdown away from his thought and to where Ultra Magnus was standing near Optimus. Well, an updated Optimus, now taller, stronger and heavy-built. Also a flying Optimus. Yeah, that was going to take a long time to get used to.

"Welcome to Earth, Ultra Magnus," Optimus said to Ultra Magnus, who gave the Prime a respectful nod, "and Team Prime."

Ultra Magnus turned away from Optimus, looking towards the assembled Autobots, and Breakdown.

"Okay, someone's gotta say it," Miko said as she scampered up to Ultra Magnus and Optimus, both of whom cast their gazes down on her, "Optimus 2.0 is rad! Imagine what the Forge could do with  _your_ body." Miko looked towards Ratchet when she said "your body", drawing a tired huff from the medic.

Ratchet turned to Smokescreen, who had been unusually subdued since they had gotten to the new base and meet back up with the young Autobot, then looked behind him to where the Forge of Solus Prime was resting against the base's wall.

"Is it true then, that the Forge has been trained of its power?" Ratchet asked, gaze turning to Smokescreen, who seemed to wilt under his gaze, "That any hope of rebuilding the Omega Lock has truly been lost?"

"I… I did what I thought was right," Smokescreen said, though Breakdown could tell the young Autobot was beginning to doubt himself.

"Then your instincts have again proven to be quite sound," Ratchet said gently, Smokescreen looking up to Ratchet with the beginning of a hopeful glance that received a nod from Ratchet.

Smokescreen said nothing in response, turning instead to face Optimus and Ultra Magnus, who looked upon those surrounding them with matching looks of pride.

But, for some reason, Breakdown felt that, even with Optimus back and the Autobot force swelled by two, the worst was yet to come.


	24. Chapter 24

Breakdown snapped awake with a jolt, his chassis rattling with each heaving breath that puffed from his vents. He'd had another nightmare, the fourth in as many days since he and the Autobots had relocated to the new base. Breakdown had no clue why the nightmares had come back and, frankly, he didn't even remember the nightmares after he woke up each time.

But it bothered him. Bothered him enough to get deep under his plating and stay there.

Shivering, Breakdown stood up from his sleeping berth and hurried out of the military hanger, hoping he could escape the crawling feeling of the nightmare. After awhile the strange feeling faded away and left Breakdown to silence, and to look deep into the night sky, dappled heavily with stars.

_Somewhere, out there, was my home, my real home. But now I'm stuck on this planet, a planet where I am the invasive species, not the native species. Is it to much to wish to go back to Cybertron?_

_Will I ever see home restored?_

_Or will I die, like so many others before me, knowing that I share the same fate as Cybertron?_

…

_Because of Optimus._

* * *

"Unbelievable. Disgusting. Blasphemy. Frag those Autobots, especially that new, shiny Prime! Frag them!"

"Uh, sir? Are you okay?" The nervous voice of a Vehicon drew Knock Out's attention away from his ranting and back to the  _Nemesis_ ' medical bay.

"Oh, I'm just dandy!" Knock Out replied, a strained tone ever so subtle in his voice, "Perfectly fine! I just lost something important to me when the Autobots destroyed Darkmount."

The Vehicon tilted his helm curiously, slowly moving closer to Knock Out, "May I ask what you lost sir?"

"My brand new rotary buffer! It's gone. I'll never be shiny again!"

"Uh, okay. I'm sorry for your loss sir!" At that the Vehicon bolted from the medical bay, the patter of its pedes fading as Knock Out watched.

Anger coiled under Knock Out's plating, so hot it made him uncomfortable. He hadn't felt anger like this since Breakdown had ditched the Decepticons, all because he was a soft, emotional basketcase.

Knock Out pushed his thoughts away returned his attention to the dead Vehicon lying out on his operating slab. Ever since the Autobot medic had attacked one of their mines and left behind the strange, performance enhancing Energon, Knock Out had been working to perfect.

Sadly, he only could try his experiment on those that had died, as their was no living Vehicon willing to endure his experimenting. It irritated him to no end, for Knock Out figured he would only get good data from alive subject.

_But what can you do?_

Knock Out sighed then continued his work, something telling him that his work with the synthetic energon doing would come in use very, very soon.

* * *

If there was one thing Breakdown had learned from his eons of service for the Decepticons was that the best way to understand your enemy was to quietly, and patiently, observe their every move. And that was what he had been doing, in his alt mode, at the military base for the past four hours - well, the military wasn't his enemy, but they definitely were not his allies - watching the humans rush around the base like Vehicons high on energon.

In all Breakdown had seen military personnel on guard, border patrol, repairing the military vehicles, and even on guard in front of the Autobot hanger. Breakdown was surprised how the human military operated much like the Decepticons, with a never ending bustle of activity.

A sudden loud clutter of noise from the Autobot's hanger snapped Breakdown from his thoughts and towards the hanger. Breakdown transformed out of his alt mode and walked into the hanger base, optic narrowing as Optimus walked up for the underground bunker where the Autobots were using as their berths.

"Good morning, Breakdown," Optimus greeted him as the Prime walked past Breakdown. Breakdown turned so he could keep his optic on the Autobot leader, shuttering his optic as anger began to simmer in his core.

He hadn't talked with any of the Autobots about the whole Omega Lock fiasco in the four days since the destruction of Darkmount and the reforming of the Autobots. But not talking about the loss of any hope for Cybertron had been nagging more and more on him every single day he didn't say anything. And with no one awake but him and Optimus, Breakdown decided he had had enough of keeping his silence.

Breakdown growled and turned fully towards Optimus, walking up to the Autobot leader. Optimus heard Breakdown and turned towards him, looking down on Breakdown with a guarded expression.

"Yes, Breakdown?" Optimus asked, a subtle note of annoyance lilting in his question.

"I wanted to talk to you,  _Prime_ ," Breakdown said, barely able to hold back the anger tearing through his chassis as he glared up at the Prime.

"About what?" Optimus queried, helm tilting wonderingly.

"I wanted to know why you destroyed the Omega Lock. I know what you said to Ratchet before, but tell me  _exactly_ why," Breakdown said as Optimus let out another sigh.

"I destroyed the Omega Lock to see the Earth and its inhabitants. It was the only way to stop Megatron," Prime explained.

"And  _that_ is because you gave up the Omega Keys, for the human children. Don't you recall that they were willing to sacrifice themselves - and they were only three humans if you recall, nothing more - so we could safely restore Cybertron," Breakdown snapped, his servos clenching into fists.

"Jack, Miko and Raf are the companions of Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead. I could not let them die for our planet-"

"But it's perfectly fine for all of us to die for  _their_ planet-"

"That is not what I meant," Prime interrupted, "I had to give the Omega Keys to Megatron or the lives of three innocent humans would have been on my servos."

"Unbelievable!" Breakdown growled with a humorless laugh, "Absolutely unbelievable, Prime. You gave the Keys to a known psycho, all to save three fragging humans.  _Three_ , out of seven billion! There's hardly seven  _thousand_ of our species left! Do you even  _realize_ that the Omega Lock was the only chance we had of replenishing our numbers!?"

"Breakdown, I do not-"

"No, Prime! I want you to know what you did. You, Mister High and Mighty Prime, have doomed our race to  _ **die**_! All because you've fallen for this damned, human infested planet! We are a dying race, Optimus! Once we die, there will be no more of us. Ever.  _Again_."

Prime looked shocked by Breakdown's words, "Breakdown, calm down-"

"Calm down? Calm  _down_! No, Prime, I will not calm down. I didn't agree to work with you and your Autobots, only to have the home that so many have died for, so many lives ruined, so many eons wasted, only for you to throw away the ONE chance we had at making the fight worth something! You desecrated the lives of every Autobot, Decepticon and neutral Cybertronian that died in this war!

"You've tried so hard to separate yourself from Megatron and yet, you and he are just alike. Both of you do only what you believe is best and neither of you ever think about what anyone wants," Breakdown roared, fury driving his words and his pedes as he advanced on Optimus, whose entire frame was stiff with his own anger.

"You will not speak with such disrespect to your commanding officer, Breakdown," Optimus growled, leaning down to glare into Breakdown's one optic.

Breakdown snarled back as he too gave Optimus a withering, hateful glare. "You are  _not_ my commanding officer. I never joined the Autobots if you recall, no, I'm just along with all of you because I would rather not go it alone with Megatron hunting for me so, no, Prime, you are not my commanding officer,and I am not required to obey whatever you say to me."

"You may not be an Autobot, Breakdown, but you  _are_ living with us under my good graces. I could just are as easily force you to leave the Autobots, Breakdown."

"Ah, but you wouldn't do that Optimus. Judging by the deplorable state of your Autobots, you need every mech you can get to fight alongside you," Breakdown hissed, a smug smirk curving across his faceplate as Optimus looked away briefly, confirming his thoughts.

Before Breakdown could continue though, Optimus' optics widened, a nervous guilt flashing through his optics before vanishing. Breakdown turned to see shat Optimus was looking at, a snort of absolute derision escaping from his chassis

 _Oh that's just classic_ , Breakdown thought as Ratchet, Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Bulkhead and Wheeljack ad gathered within the hanger, mouths hanging.

"What in Primus' name is going on here." Ratchet gasped, servo angled towards Breakdown and Optimus.

"It is nothing to worry yourselves about," Optimus began, drawing a round of, still humorless, laughter from Breakdown.

"Oh, stop trying to protect them, Prime," Breakdown snarled, wheeling around and stomping to the hanger's entrance. Before leaving, Breakdown turned back to the gathered Autobots and Optimus.

"Just wait, if we are never able to recover Cybertron, Optimus won't be seen as the last great Prime, who saved our race, but the one who  _destroyed_ it."

On that final note, Breakdown whipped around and stormed out of the hanger.

* * *

It was early twilight when Breakdown finally returned to the Autobot hanger base after a long drive. The hanger was extremely quiet when he entered, with Ratchet and Ultra Magnus busy at two separate HUDs systems, the humans were asleep, Bulkhead and Wheeljack were talking quietly to each other in one corner of the base, and Arcee, Smokescreen - with a new, blue paint job, oddly enough - and Bumblebee were chatting amongst themselves. Optimus noticed Breakdown enter, the only Autobot to do so.

"Breakdown," Optimus greeted coolly as Breakdown walked by him. Breakdown didn't reply, though his anger towards Optimus had simmered down over his long drive, but only a little.

"Prime! Satellite surveillance has found two signs of Decepticon activity; one near an oil field outside of el Paso, Texas, the other near the bluffs of Scotland, so pack your kilts," Agent Fowler said as he rushed out from his office inside the hanger.

"We must divide our resources, Ultra Magnus," Prime said, turning to the mech standing to the left and behind him, "I want you to head to the bluffs. Take Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Breakdown with you and be  _careful_."

 _Oh, fun_ , Breakdown thought sarcastically, unhappy about getting assigned to Ultra Magnus, but he wasn't going to say anything in that effect. And he didn't really think it wise to get more on Optimus' bad side than he already, most likely, had today.

"Oh now that's just brilliant," Wheeljack snapped, "I have to work with Captain Serious-"

"Wheeljack!" Bulkhead hissed, silencing Wheeljack by covering his mouth with one of Bulkhead's servos. Wheeljack shot Bulkhead daggers, blue optics narrowing as he shoved Bulkhead's servo off his mouth.

"Oh, stop it, Bulkhead! Every since Ultra Magnus came and  _helped_ us, you've been gaga about him. I'm sorry that I don't see your new hero like you do Bulkhead," Wheeljack growled before letting out a disgusted snort and turned away from Bulkhead, just as Ultra Magnus turned to the three of them.

"Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Breakdown, let's roll," Ultra Magnus commanded before turning and walking towards the hanger's entrance. Wheeljack sighed and walked after Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead hurried after Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus. Breakdown growled under his breath and stomped after Ultra Magnus, who suddenly drew to a halt near the Forge of Solus Prime.

Ultra Magnus turned to Optimus, who was watching him with a soft look, "Optimus, I know there are many emotions tied to the Forge."

"This is no time to stand on ceremony," Optimus explained to Ultra Magnus, who nodded and picked up the Forge with a grunt.

"I would be honored to put this to some practical use," Ultra Magnus said, giving Optimus a steady nod as he walked out to the  _Iron Will_.

* * *

No one said a thing on the Iron Will, though Breakdown kept getting weird looks from Bulkhead, who looked extremely uncomfortable being near Breakdown. Wheeljack was staring at one of the Iron Will's walls distantly, he hadn't said a word since before leaving base and they'd been in the air for quite a few hours.

Breakdown knew that his rant towards Optimus had done him no favors, especially when it came to Ultra Magnus, who wasn't the best at hiding how he always seemed to have an optic on Breakdown. Nor with any Autobot, especially Ratchet.

_Now Ratchet won't talk to me again._

"We're here," Ultra Magnus noted.

The  _Iron Will_  slowly maneuvered to the ground, its landing gears pressing to the ground with a soft hiss of air. Breakdown and the Wreckers moved to the  _Iron Will_ 's lift once the ship's engines had shut off.

As the lift began to lower, Ultra Magnus, without turning his gaze on the Wreckers and Breakdown, said, "Okay, Beats Hunters, according to our intel, Decepticons should be excavating for Predacon bones directly beneath us."

"On it, chief!" Wheeljack acknowledged, then bolted from the lift, stopping to glance around the area before sprinting off towards the cliffs below them.

"Does Wheeljack not comprehend the chain of command?" Ultra Magnus asked Bulkhead, whose chassis stiffened at Ultra Magnus' question. "I didn't authorize him to advance without proper cover."

"Uh, I'm sure Jackie's just trying to prove himself, now that you and he are serving together again," Bulkhead said with a shrug.

"YEE-HAA!" Wheeljack cheered before leaping right off the cliff.

Breakdown raised an optic ridge as Wheeljack disappeared over the cliff, turning to send Bulkhead a knowing look, which Bulkhead avoided by turning his surprised gaze to Ultra Magnus.

Ultra Magnus said nothing for awhile, though he kept his gaze locked onto Bulkhead, who was beginning to grow uncomfortable under Ultra Magnus' gaze. Finally Ultra Magnus looked away from Bulkhead, "Move out."

Breakdown stepped off the lift first at Ultra Magnus' okay, casting a suspicious glance around him as he slowly walked towards the cliff edge Wheeljack had jumped down. Bulkhead moved past Breakdown, scrambling down the cliff wall after Wheeljack. Ultra Magnus slowly came up on Breakdown's left, giving him an unreadable expression as they both paused before the cliff edge.

"What, Magnus?" Breakdown snapped as Ultra Magnus gave him a wary look.

"Nothing," Ultra Magnus replied stiffly, marching past Breakdown, with another suspicious glare.

Breakdown rolled his optic and groaned,  _Ultra Magnus must be angry at me for telling Optimus off._

After a bit Ultra Magnus turned and nodded, signaling for Breakdown to follow him. Breakdown nodded acknowledgement and followed as Ultra Magnus slowly, stealthily, moved up to a small outcropping from the cliff and looked down. Breakdown moved to Ultra Magnus' left, staring down the cliff, where Wheeljack and Bulkhead were both hanging to the cliff and looking down at a Vehicon patrolling at the bottom of the cliff.

Breakdown glanced towards Ultra Magnus, hiding his irritation, who tilted his gaze towards Wheeljack and Bulkhead before releasing a tired sigh and transforming his left servo into its gun alt. Ultra Magnus and Breakdown shifted closer to the edge of the cliff, waiting and watching the Vehicon below them.

Suddenly, for a reason Breakdown couldn't tell, the Vehicon snapped its gaze towards them, aiming its gun servo at Wheeljack and Bulkhead. Wheeljack leaped from where he had been hanging to the cliff, pulling his twin swords out as he fell, slicing the Vehicon's helm off. Wheeljack landed to the ground as the Vehicon's helmless frame clattered to the ground.

"Great," Breakdown muttered as Wheeljack saluted Ultra Magnus with one of his swords. Ultra Magnus shook his helm in disapproval, anger burning through his optics as he looked down to where Wheeljack was in time to see a squadron of Vehicons charge towards Wheeljack.

Wheeljack deflected the Vehicons blasts with his swords, plunging one sword through the closest Vehicon, then whirling and kicking the Vehicon away from him. Bulkhead leapt from the cliff wall, crushing a Vehicon under his mace before swinging and smashing another one in the chestplate.

Breakdown snapped his gaze to Ultra Magnus, who nodded curtly, before both of them leapt from the outcropping, Breakdown firing his shoulder cannon at the Vehicons as Ultra Magnus pulled the Forge from his back and swung it down, hitting the ground between two Vehicons, which sent a huge ripple effect knocking the Vehicons off their pedes. Breakdown landed beside him a moment later, grabbing one of the Vehicons by its arm and yanking it till it was facing him.

"Fly away," Breakdown warned before flinging the Vehicon away from him. The Vehicon snapped into its at mode and blasted away, backwash throwing dust over Breakdown, and clouding his vision. Breakdown shook himself, clearing the dust from his vision, then wheeled around once more, stopping when he realized that all of the Vehicons were dead or gone.

Ultra Magnus sheathed the Forge as Bulkhead deactivated his guns and Wheeljack sheathed his swords.

"And that's why we wait for cover," Ultra Magnus warned Wheeljack, who turned to Ultra Magnus, mouth opening to reply when a steady knocking burst from Wheeljack's chestplate.

Breakdown and Ultra Magnus glanced at each other, then back to Wheeljack, who tilted his helm back and muttered, "Aw, bolts."

Wheeljack's chest compartment opened, then a small -  _human?_ \- hand burst from the former Wrecker's chestplate, Miko popping up moments later with a strangled gasp.

" _Miko_?" Breakdown gasped, mouth hanging open in stunned disbelief. "What is  _she_ doing here?"

"Uh," Bulkhead stammered, as Wheeljack pulled Miko from his chest compartment and walked her over to a large rock, placing her on the rock gently.

"Forgot you were in there, kid," Wheeljack apologized, giving Miko a shrug of his shoulder plates as Miko breathed deeply.

"I least I didn't heave on any floormates this time," Miko gasped amidst heaving breaths.

Wheeljack scuffled Miko's hair with a single digit, not noticing as Ultra Magnus marched up behind him.

" _Soldier_."

Ultra Magnus' words snapped Wheeljack around, the white mech snapping back in surprise as Ultra Magnus bent down to glare deep into Wheeljack's optics.

"And  _what_ compelled you to bring the native?" Ultra Magnus hissed, eliciting an exaggerated eye roll from Wheeljack, who said nothing in response to Ultra Magnus' question. "Are your circuits impaired soldier?"

"Prime told you to leave the Wreckers on this one, I just assumed he meant all of them," Wheeljack finally replied, shooting a proud look to Miko, who straightened up with a smile.

 _Miko a Wrecker? Please,_ Breakdown thought, rolling his sole optic with a disbelieving snort.

"Are you  _mocking_ your commanding officer?" Ultra Magnus growled, glaring down at Wheeljack then, sort of unfairly, shot another suspicious glare to Breakdown.

"Wouldn't think of it,  _sir_. The kid's a full blown Wrecker. Isn't that right Bulkhead?" Wheeljack looked towards Bulkhead.

"Well," Bulkhead began unconvincingly.

"Look, she may be small but she saved my tailpipe, snuffed an Insecticon, all on her own," Wheeljack said passionately.

"Outside standard protocol, no doubt," Ultra Magnus grumpled.

 _More like out of standard sanity_ , Breakdown thought snippily, looking towards Miko as she let out a sarcastic snort.

"The point is, I can handle myself," Miko said, "sir."

"Miko has been through worse and we've drawn out the enemy and cleared passage," Bulkhead interjected, drawing a frustrated sigh from Ultra Magnus.

"Fine, since we do not have the time to send her back, the native can stay. For  _now_ ," Ultra Magnus relented, shaking his helm as he turned on his heel and headed towards a crack in the cliff wall where the Vehicons had come from.

Miko leapt down from the rock and scampered after Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead and Wheeljack moving with her, then Breakdown followed right behind them

"Why did you bring Miko?" Bulkhead snapped, shooting Wheeljack an affronted look. Wheeljack glowered at Bulkhead, engine rumbling unhappily.

"She asked to me to come, and so I obliged her, Bulkhead," Wheeljack growled, his wing kibble flaring up angrily at Bulkhead's accusatorial look, "She's not going to get hurt, if that is what you are worried about. She can handle herself just fine."

"Wheeljack! This- Miko could have gotten hurt!"

"But she didn't," Wheeljack snapped, his tone leaving no question that he was done talking about bringing Miko.

Breakdown rolled his optic behind Bulkhead and Wheeljack's backs, gaze falling to the ground, when a sudden shout from Miko stopped him, and the others, in their steps.

"Is this it?" Miko asked Ultra Magnus, holding up a rock so Ultra Magnus could see it.

Ultra Magnus half-turned to Miko then, grumpily said, "No, that is a rock." Ultra Magnus whipped around and continued walking down the tunnel, Miko lowering the rock with a loud sigh.

"Huh, just like old times? Right, Jackie?" Bulkhead said, glancing towards Wheeljack, who ground to a halt.

"Yeah, but back then I didn't have to ask permission to pick partners," Wheeljack growled.

"Come on, we're all on the same team," Bulkhead said, smacking Wheeljack on the back, which only earned the green mech a glare from Wheeljack, "Beast Hunters, eh?" Wheeljack stiffened, then turned on Bulkhead with a quick snap, chassis stiff.

"During all those cycles it took me to travel to Earth, all I could think about was getting our band of brothers back together! But  _this_ isn't the line up I had in mind," Wheeljack shifted his glare to Ultra Magnus then Breakdown, which made Breakdown respond with a low growl from his engine.

" _Thanks_ ," Breakdown muttered, shoving past Bulkhead and Wheeljack to follow after Ultra Magnus. By the time Breakdown had caught up with Ultra Magnus he could not hear the conversation going on between Bulkhead and Wheeljack, not that he cared.

Ultra Magnus looked back at Breakdown briefly, then continued on down the tunnel. Breakdown heard Wheeljack begin walking again after a bit, but the tunnel suddenly shook mightily, dropping loads of dust onto Breakdown and the others. A few rocks fell from the ceiling, one pinging off of Breakdown's shoulder plate with a sharp clank.

"What was that?" Bulkhead asked as the sound of pedes thundering over the ground grew ever closer to them.

"Well, whatever it is, it's big," Wheeljack commentated, his assessment followed by a loud screech from whatever was further down the tunnel, "and it's coming fast!"

The sound of thundering pedestepes grew louder, and faster, and Breakdown began to move back as Ultra Magnus stepped between Wheeljack and Bulkhead. Then, from around a bend in the tunnel, came the dragon Predacon, skidding across the rock floor before charging towards the Autobots and Breakdown.

Without waiting for Ultra Magnus' comment, Breakdown snapped into his alt mode, spun around, and roared away from the Predacon. The sleek form of Wheeljack's alt mode streaked by Breakdown only a few seconds later, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus a small ways back with the Predacon right on Ultra Magnus' tailpipe, jaws snapping but missing Ultra Magnus as he shot away as fast as possible from the Predacon.

The Predacon continued to thunder after them, its heavy pedefalls causing rocks and dust to fall from the ceiling, as the tunnel began to glow with light. Breakdown turned his mirrors to see the Predacon's chest begin to glow with the beginning of flames, then took a sharp swerve to the right as the beast's flames shot by him. With a snap of its jaws, the Predacon just missed biting through Bulkhead, though it did not give up and continued to snap at the four fleeing mechs.

Suddenly, Ultra Magnus passed Breakdown then took a sharp swerve down another tunnel, Breakdown having to hit his brakes to be able to successfully swerve into the tunnel, though he got uncomfortably close to the cave wall. Wheeljack and Bulkhead were forced into the same situation, their brakes shrieking as they took the sharp turn into the new tunnel.

The Predacon screeched as it skidded, talons scraping against the cave wall as its entire frame smashed into the cave wall. But the beast recovered quickly and charged after Breakdown, Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus, closing in on them until all four of them passed through a much smaller hole which the Predacon could not get through.

Rage fueled the Predacon's roar, a roar that echoed through the tunnel without mercy, followed by the ominous sound of rock cracking and falling to the ground.

"Accelerate!" Ultra Magnus roared as another blast of bright hot flames was released from the Predacon's mouth.

Breakdown revved his engine as high as it could, his speed picking up rapidly just he and the others burst into a open cavern of the cave, he and Wheeljack screeching to the right side of the cavern, Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead screeching to a halt on the left side just as the Predacon's flames burst through the hole, petering out with a deadly hiss from the trapped Predacon.

Breakdown switched out of his alt mode, chassis heaving with the exertion of running his alt mode to its max torque. Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead had already transformed to his side, though Wheeljack had yet to do the same.

"That rock won't hold it for long," Ultra Magnus stated, "we need to contact base and request reinforcements."

The sound of WHeeljack transforming precluded his biting words, the sword wielding Autobot turning a furious optic on Ultra Magnus. "Wreckers don't call for backup."

The absolute absurdity of Wheeljack's words drew a stunned, speechless look from both Breakdown and Bulkhead, while Ultra Magnus had an poorly bridled furious frown curl down his faceplate. Bulkhead turned to Ultra Magnus, Miko in one servo while the other was raised to Magnus.

"Uh, what Jackie means is that we can't get a commlink signal this far from underground," Bulkhead said, Ultra Magnus glancing over to Wheeljack, who crossed his arms with smug look.

"Uh, hello?" Breakdown finally interjected, "Can we deal with this argument  _later_? The Predacon isn't going to wait for you two to finish arguing before it attacks us!"

"Fine," Wheeljack grumbled, turning away from Ultra Magnus as Bulkhead hurried Miko over to a cluster of rocks at the edge of the cavern.

"Miko, you need to get out of here. You are going to have to climb," Bulkhead said, his helm turning up to the small slit in the cavern's ceiling, the distant thunder of the Predacon bashing into the rock wall on driving the worry every mech was feeling.

"No way! I want to help!" Miko shouted, rage burning in her eyes.

"And you will," Ultra Magnus said, shocking Miko's attention away from Bulkhead, "I need you to reach my ship so you can contact Optimus Prime."

"Yes, sir!" Miko saluted Ultra Magnus and began to scale the large rocks that led up to the hole in the cavern's ceiling.

When the Predacon roared agin, its roar was considerably louder, the thud of rocks falling leaving a rhythmic thunder as the sound of it bashing into rock continued.

"I don't know if I like the sound of that," Wheeljack said amidst a steady rumble, that which Breakdown suspected was the rock wall the Predacon had gotten stuck in crumbling to nothingness.

"So, uh-"

"We make our stand," Ultra Magnus said, interrupting Bulkhead as he drew the Forge from his back, "here and now."

Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon dn switched his servos into their hammer alts, engine growling as he moved to the side, clambering over a rock to get a better vantage point of the Predacon. Wheeljack rushed off behind a boulder, his guns activated as he peeked around the rock, watching for the Predacon. Bulkhead hurried to the cavern's entrance and Ultra Magnus stood still in the middle of the cavern.

Then the heavy thud of the Predacons pedes grew eerily loud, the draconic creature walking into the cavern with a low snarl as its optics locked onto Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus tightened his hold on the Forge as the Predacon looked down on him, mandibles lciking before it roared a challenge and charged for Ultra Magnus.

Ultra Magnus swung the Forge as the Predacon neared him, the huge hammer smashing into the dragon's head, sending sparks flying as the dragon stumbled backwards, snapping its attention back to Ultra Magnus with a vicious roar.

"Open fire!" Ultra Magnus ordered. Breakdown and Wheeljack fired their respective weapons, the twin points of fire confusing the Predacon until it whirled on Wheeljack and charged him. Wheeljack leapt away from the Predacon's reach, still firing his guns at its huge helm. At that moment Bulkhead joined in the fray, blasts hitting into the Predacon's leg. The Predacon looked between Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead, confusion and anger mixing in its optics.

"Keep firing! Our shots are confusing it!" Wheeljack yelled, just as the Predacon snapped open its wings, catching Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead with their huge span and throwing all three against the cave wall. Breakdown hit the cave wall with a solid  _thud_ , and slid down the wall, pedes scrambling to steady himself as he stood.

Wind began to batter Breakdown, generated by the Predacon lifting off the ground with each mighty thrust of its wings. Breakdown aimed his cannon at the dragon and began to fire at the huge beast, though his shots only drew the Predacon's ire on him. The Predacon roared at him, wings folding to its body so that it crashed to the ground, but it had not anticipated the brutal swing of the Forge crashing into its legs, sweeping the dragon off its feet.

Breakdown leapt down, landing beside Ultra Magnus as the Predacon scrambled to its feet, only to get its helm smashed simultaneously by Breakdown and Ultra Magnus' hammers. The Predacon stumbled back and met Wheeljack's swords, the twin blades slashing down the dragon's plated neck. Bulkhead jumped in with a flurry of shots from his cannon, which all pinged off of the Predacon's chestplate.

The Predacon reared its helm back with a roar of pure, animalistic fury as its chest burned bright with fire them with a quick swing of its neck the Predacon sprayed its fire all around the cavern, forcing Breakdown and the others to dive behind rocks or under the stream of fire. Ultra Magnus was the only one to dive under the fire, leaping up onto his pedes with a savage roar as he smashed the Forge into the Predacon's side

The Predacon was sent skidding across the ground, roaring furiously towards Ultra Magnus. Breakdown began firing his cannon at the Predacon but its gaze was locked solely on Ultra Magnus and so it swung its long tail towards him. Bulkhead intercepted the tail by grabbing onto it, attempting to hold it still, but the Predacon was much stronger than Bulkhead, throwing him into Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead crashed into the wall as the Predacon wheeled on Breakdown.

Breakdown attempted to dodge the dragon's attack, but the Predacon had a much longer reach than Breakdown could avoid and it grabbed him in its jaws and threw him against the wall near Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus. Breakdown groaned painfully, none of his limbs responding to his attempts to move.

The deep snarl of the Predacon sent chills down Breakdown's backstrut as it got closer to where he, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus lay stunned.

"Hey! Hothead!" Wheeljack's shout, and subsequent blasts from his gun, drew the Predacon's attention away from the three stunned mechs. Wheeljack continued to fire at the Predacon, taunting the beast with a flurry of shouts.

Then he could hear the swelling sound of the Predacon summoning its fire, before a sharp metallic ping echoed in the cavern, followed by another ping after another ping. Then a sudden, rapid beeping.

Breakdown's gaze snapped to the small, black grenade that had landed only a few feet from him, Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead.

 _Oh, scrap_.

"Oh scrap," Wheeljack said before a huge explosion tore through the cavern, sending rocks crashing down onto everything in the cavern.

 _Well, this just sucks_ , Breakdown though,  _crushed under rocks. Again._

Distantly, Breakdown heard the roar of the Predacon, then its wing beats fading into the distance. Engine rumbling, Breakdown snapped his servos into hammers and began bashing them against the rocks holding him down.

The process as slow, especially considering how little room he had to properly get power into each swing, but he finally cleared the rocks off him. Next to him, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus had cleared the rocks of themselves, with Wheeljack only just clearing the rocks off him further away.

"Well, that didn't go exactly as planned," Wheeljack quipped as Breakdown, Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead approached him.

"That's because any first cycle cadet would know better than to detonate a grenade in a confined space!" Ultra Magnus snarled as he glared down at Wheeljack.

"Even if I intended the confined space to be the belly of the beast?" Wheeljack hissed, glaring blue daggers back at Ultra Magnus.

"Uh, sir?" Bulkhead asked, but Ultra Magnus ignored him.

"Your actions continue to be one step removed from getting us  _all_ scraped," Ultra Magnus growled, smashing his pede to the floor to emphasize his point.

"With all due respect, sir," Bulkhead interrupted, "the Predacon is loose and Miko is out there alone." Bulkhead turned on his heel and bolted down the tunnel, leaving Breakdown, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus behind.

Breakdown shot the other two a look then ran after Bulkhead, catching up to the green mech as they charged down the tunnel.

"I hope the Predacon hasn't gotten to Miko yet," Bulkhead shouted, "she won't be able to defeat it. Not if none of us have been able to even put a scratch in its armor!"

"It's Miko, she'll somehow find a way to get out of a scrap," Breakdown urged, pedes skidding down the turn into the main tunnel, with Bulkhead charging along beside him. The sound of two throaty engines pulled Breakdown and Bulkhead to a stop, both turning to see Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus race up to them in their alt modes and transform out of them.

"You did not have my permission to leave the ranks, either of you," Ultra Magnus warned, "but, in this situation, I will let it pass."

"Well, good," Wheeljack drawled, "I would hope Bulkhead and Breakdown going to help Miko would be okay in your book,  _chief_."

Ultra Magnus shot Wheeljack another stony glare, but did not say anything to him, instead turning to Breakdown and Bulkhead. "Let's go, soldiers."

Ultra Magnus transformed into his alt mode and raced down the tunnel, Breakdown, Bulkhead and Wheeljack following his tracks. After a few minutes of racing through the long tunnel, they reached the outside, Bulkhead immediately switching out of his at mode as they came to a halt by the cliff edge. Bulkhead began climbing up the cliff edge, Breakdown, Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus following after the green mech.

Oddly, Breakdown could sweat he heard metal clashing against metal, as if two Cybertronians were duking it out on the flats above the cliffs. Breakdown glanced over to Wheeljack, who raised an optic brow and signaled he'd heard the fighting too.

The four finally reached the top of the bluff, gazes snapping to the sight of two Eradicons fighting with…  _Miko_?  _And the Apex Armor?_

"Who's wrecking who now?" It  _was_  Miko, in the Apex Armor of all things, fighting two Eradicons, with Starscream observing further back.

Breakdown and the others pulled themselves to the top of the bluffs, Breakdown releasing an impressed snort as Miko continued to battle the Eradicons. Very well, honestly.

_I guess she can be a Wrecker._

"Perhaps you weren't wrong about the human after all," Ultra Magnus said to Wheeljack, who only smiled slightly.

Miko kicked away the last Eradicon, who clattered to the ground in front of Starscream. Starscream cracked his servo, long, clawed digits twisting into hooks as the Decepticon gave Miko one of his infamous withering glares.

"You do know that I vanquished Cliffjumper, don't you?" Starscream hissed at Miko.

"Big woop," Miko taunted, "I snuffed Hardshell."

Ultra Magnus signaled for Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead to charge up to where Miko and Starscream were. The moment Starscream noticed all of them he flinched back and shouted for the two Eradicons to retreat, the three Decepticon jets zooming away into the sky.

Miko, in the Apex Armor, attempted to follow Starscream and his troops but stopped, letting out a frustrated groan. "They got away with the bone."

"Good job, Miko." Breakdown surprised himself by congratulating the young human, cracking a small smile for her, which made her eyes light up with joy.

"Hey," Wheeljack said, drawing Miko's attention away from Breakdown, "you brought your A game, kid. Like a true Wrecker." Wheeljack formed a fist with his right servo and gently rapped it against the shoulder of the Apex Armor, a sad ghost of a smile flitting across his faceplate.

Miko looked up at Wheeljack, whose brief smile faltered and began to fade as he glanced between Breakdown, Bulkhead, Ultra Magnus and Miko.

"And I want to remember us just like this," Wheeljack turned his gaze to Ultra Magnus, "before the rust sets in." Wheeljack turned away from the group and transformed into his alt mode, slowly pulling away from Breakdown and the others.

Miko turned to Bulkhead, "Wait, where is Wheeljack going?"

"Solo…" Bulkhead answered.

"Again?" Miko cried, her eyes widening with shock as she shifted her gaze between Breakdown and Bulkhead.

"Jackie just broke up the band, Miko."

"Get used to it, Miko," Breakdown warned, as Wheeljack's alt mode began to pick up speed, "at some point in your life, you'll understand why people leave their friends… or family."

Wheeljack raced away from sight, vanishing over the Scotland hills with a cold finality, leaving a growing intense hostile air between the remaining mechs. Ultra Magnus looked immensely displeased, while Bulkhead was looking between Breakdown, Miko and Ultra Magnus nervously. Breakdown ignored Bulkhead, though he was not able to ignore the growing irritation clawing at his spark.

"Sir, I am terribly sorry about Wheeljack," Bulkhead said hastily, "He has been alone for quite some time, so he might not remember how to talk to authoritative figures."

Ultra Magnus raised a brow ridge, glancing down at Bulkhead, who gulped nervously. "Being away from others does not excuse his disobedient attitude, soldier."

"Sir, please-"

"Oh, enough already Bulkhead," Breakdown snapped, his interruption of Bulkhead drawing a cold glare from Ultra Magnus, "you're pleading isn't going to work. Neither Wheeljack or Ultra Magnus need your excuses."

Bulkhead looked utterly flabbergasted at Breakdown's words, his jaw moving soundlessly as Ultra Magnus' gaze grew cold.

"I do not appreciate your tone, soldier-"

"My name isn't  _soldier_ , it's Breakdown," he snarled, hatred fueling his words. He'd been called not by his name for eons by Decepticon higher-ups when he had been serving the Decepticons, and he had hated then, so much so that now, being called soldier, straight up pissed him off.

"Soldier, you will listen to me-"

"No, Ultra Magnus, I'm not going to 'listen to you'. I'm leaving." Breakdown snapped.

"Wait, Breakdown-" Bulkhead began but a muted look from Ultra Magnus quieted Bulkhead.

With a roll of his optic, Breakdown turned away from the two remaining Autobots and the human, opening up a communications link to the new base.

"Base, would you open a Ground Bridge to here?" Breakdown asked, shending his coordinates to base.

" _Uh, sure. Is something going on there, cause Wheeljack just came back and he was pretty unhappy,"_  Raf's voice was the one that answered Breakdown, a note of surprise at the edge of his voice.

"Everything is  _fine_ ," Breakdown snarled, eliciting a surprised squeak from Raf, "just open a Bridge.  _Now_."

" _Okay, just give me a second_ ," Raf replied, the sound of the human tapping away at his computer being the only noise coming through the comms for a few moments, " _Okay, got it. Give it a second, then you'll be good, Breakdown."_

Just as Raf's comms shut off the Ground Bridge opened up, a few feet from the  _Iron Will_. Breakdown moved up to the Ground Bridge and looked back at Bulkhead, Miko and Ultra Magnus.

"Have a  _fun_ trip home!" Breakdown snapped, giving Ultra Magnus a sarcastic salute before walking through the Ground Bridge.

It only took a few moments for Breakdown to get through the Ground Bridge and back to the Autobot base. Ratchet was doing something on one of the bases computers, muttering to himself quietly. Jack was sitting on one of the base's couches, playing some game on his TV set.

Raf was busy toiling away on his computer, casting Breakdown the briefest of glances as the Ground Bridge shut down.

"Hey, Raf, where'd Wheeljack go?" Breakdown asked as he moved up to where Raf was working.

"He went with Arcee after another Predacon bone signature just after he got here. He seemed pretty upset," Raf explained, turning in his chair towards Breakdown, "Something obviously happened between you guys on the bluffs. So what as it?"

"Honestly? It was Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and the Predacon coming. Wheeljack was creating more issues than anything. Combine that with the fact that Wheeljack brought Miko along with him and everything went to scrap."

"Yeah, Wheeljack sort of told us that he brought her with him, but he didn't seem to be in a talkative mood, at all," Raf commented before turning back to his work, but before the small human could even begin working his phone let out a sharp series of trills.

Raf pulled the cellphone from his pocket, flipped it open and began to talk to whoever was calling him.

"Hey, Miko. Yeah, he came by. No, he went off with Arcee on a mission- What? No! Miko!" Raf flipped his phone shut and sighed, then turned back to researching on his computer.

Breakdown gave Raf a shrug, turning as Jack's mother walked into the base.

"Good afternoon, Breakdown," she said as she strode up the flight of stairs that led to where Raf and Jack were sitting

"And to you," Breakdown replied curtly, his reply drawing a smile from Jack's mother.

"Nurse Darby!" Agent Fowler said, "What brings you here?"

"Oh, just the medical supplies you graciously offered to donate. The ones Jack keeps forgetting to bring home. The hospital appreciates your generosity, Agent Fowler," Jack's mother said, making Agent Fowler smile strangely.

"Please call me, William."

"Hey, guys!" Raf called, twisting around in his chair, "I found a Predacon talon. In a museum, scientist were totally stumped when they excavated it in 1922, so it's been in storage."

"But… We're fresh out of Beast Hunters," Jack said which, at the same time, drew a sigh of frustration from both Breakdown and Ratchet.

"There is one standing right behind you," Ratchet growled, then turned back to his work on one of the base's computers.

Agent Fowler glanced over to Breakdown, then gave a noncommittal shrug. "I'm not sure you need 'Bot."

Ratchet whipped his gaze to Agent Fowler, then rolled his optics. "Breakdown will take you. We don't need anything to happen, and since he is available, you will do good to use his help."

"Great," Breakdown groaned, "just great."


	25. Chapter 25

Breakdown wasn't pleased about Ratchet forcing him to lug Agent Fowler and Jack's mother to the museum where the Predacon talon was, but he'd agreed to it. If only to avoid one of Ratchet's infamous 'You Will Do This Or I Will Weld Your Servos To Yourself' threats.

Breakdown would take humans over  _that_ any day; even though he was sore and tired from two days of no rest and having to fight off the Predacon.

Breakdown didn't mind Agent Fowler or Jack's mother as much as the kids, especially Jack's mother as she was always polite to him when visiting the base. Agent Fowler was more irritating, in Breakdown's opinion, but still more tolerable than Miko and her friends.

_They aren't as bad as the kids, but they are still humans_ , Breakdown reminded himself.

Thankfully, so far the two humans had been mainly keeping to themselves and only striking conversation between themselves, though sometimes they did ask Breakdown a few things, but not often.

After a few more minutes of driving, Breakdown's scanner pinged, informing him that the museum was just ahead. Breakdown began to slow down, then hooked a right into the museum's parking lot.

He remembered this museum, though it felt like so long ago that he, Knock Out and Soundwave had gone and collected the Energon Harvester from here. Not only had it been he and Knock Out's first mission for the Decepticons on Earth, but it had been the first time he'd fought the Autobots.

_How ironic_ , Breakdown realized as he pulled into a parking space in the empty parking lot,  _the last time I was here I was the Autobots' enemy, and now I work with them._

Breakdown shut off his engine, then unlocked his doors. "I'm giving you two thirty minutes. If you aren't out here with the Predacon talon by then, I'm  _leaving_."

"Optimus won't be happy if you leave us here," Agent Fowler warned as he clambered out of Breakdown alt mode, "you do realize that, right?"

"I don't care what Optimus thinks, just get the talon in thirty minutes and everything will be fine and dandy," Breakdown groused, slamming his doors shut once Agent Fowler and Jack's mother had gotten out.

Agent Fowler rolled his eyes then headed towards the museum, though Jack's mother hesitated momentarily. She was watching Breakdown with a strange, unreadable expression when she patted his hood briefly.

"It takes a long time for humans to come to agreements, Breakdown, so I would greatly appreciated if you gave us a little leeway on time. We'll try our best to get done as fast as we can but we never know what the museum curator will want for the talon," she said, "So please, Breakdown, just wait."

Breakdown sighed unhappily as she ran after Agent Fowler, then watched the two humans enter the museum.

* * *

Forty five minutes later and the two humans  _still_ had not come out with the talon. Breakdown had wanted to leave them behind after thirty minutes but rethought the decision grudgingly, if only for Jack's mother asking him politely to wait for them.

But he was quickly growing tired of being forced to wait for the two humans. Then again, Breakdown had never been known as patient, especially around irritating little humans.

_Ugh,_ Breakdown sighed internally,  _would they just finish up already? What could be taking them-_

A sudden rush of wind, a streak of red then a mocking shout of "Catch me if you can!", snapped Breakdown away from his grumbling, unable to move for shock for a few moments. Coming to his senses, Breakdown wheeled around, engine sputtering as he watched the taillights of Knock Out's alt mode vanish out of the museum's parking lot.

"Knock Out? What is he- Oh, FRAG!" Breakdown roared, realizing, stinkingly, that if Knock Out was here he must have done something to the humans. Hurriedly, Breakdown opened his comm link with Fowler, but received nothing but static.

Snarling, Breakdown gassed it after Knock Out, tires shrieking as he tore out of the museum's parking lot, and onto the main road leading out of the museum.

The Decepticon was much faster than Breakdown - always had been - so it was with little effort that Knock Out had already left Breakdown way behind. It took all Breakdown had to keep Knock Out in his sights, dodging and swerving around cars meandering down the road. Some cars blared their horns after Breakdown as he swerved around them but he ignored them as he continued his relentless pursuit of Knock Out.

The traffic began to thin out as Knock Out led Breakdown's pursuit of him away from the city. Leaving the busy streets of the city was both advantageous and disadvantageous to Breakdown, as it allowed him a clear, straight path of pursuit but also afforded Knock Out the chance to speed along even faster than before.

Breakdown knew he would never close the distance on his former companion, so he knew what he had to do. With no humans on the road - the benefit of it being nighttime - Breakdown activated his cannon and sighted it right on Knock Out.

Once the cannon had locked onto Knock Out, Breakdown fired his cannon, slamming on his brakes as the missile flew towards Knock Out. The misuse missed Knock Out by mere inches, hitting and exploding against the ground just behind him, throwing Knock Out to the side of the road as it exploded.

Breakdown moved up to where Knock Out, still in his alt mode, was laid on his side in a large ditch, tires spinning as the Decepticon groaned painfully. Growling, Breakdown pulled Knock Out out of the ditch by his bumper, which elicited a string of curses from Knock Out. Before Breakdown could drop Knock Out to the ground, the red Decepticon flipped out of his alt mode, landing on his pedes shakily in front of Breakdown.

Knock Out's optics narrowed dangerously as he glared at Breakdown, stepping back from him slowly.

"Breakdown," Knock Out hissed as he pulled his energon staff from his back and extended it to its full length.

"Give me the humans, Knock Out," Breakdown ordered,his tone cold alts Knock Out began to pace around Breakdown.

"No," Knock Out responded, "I won't."

Breakdown let out a low snarl then moved up to Knock Out, glaring down at the Decepticon. "You will give me the humans, Knock Out."

Knock Out laughed nervously, then suddenly lunged towards Breakdown with his energon staff. Breakdown scrambled backwards, deflecting Knock Out's staff with his arm, the rod pinging off of his plated armor.

Knock Out leapt away from Breakdown, zipping to his right - Breakdown's blindside - with a round of short laughter. Breakdown wheeled on his pedes after Knock Out, but the Decepticon had vanished.

Warily, Breakdown scanned the surrounding land, tensing as he still didn't see Knock out.  _Where has he gone?_

Breakdown's question was answered almost immediately as a jolt of energon-produced electricity suddenly coursed through his chassis, the burning, circuit frying electricity causing Breakdown to collapse to the ground. Snarling, Breakdown began to push himself off the ground, but his attempt was cut off by another paralyzing jolt of charged energon racing through his chassis.

"Stay down,  _traitor_ ,"Knock Out snarled above Breakdown, the sound of a transformation hen the sharp screech of tires being the last thing Breakdown heard before he blacked out from pain.

* * *

" _Breakdown! Hey! HEY!"_ Ratchet's shouting over the comms drew Breakdown out of the fog of darkness with a pained groan. It was still night out, so Breakdown figured he must have been out for only a short amount of time.

Breakdown slowly hauled himself to his pedes, wincing at the sharp, blistering pain still nagging at him as he opened his comms to the Autobot base.

"Ratchet? Wha-"

" _Oh, thank Primus! I couldn't raise you, or Agent Fowler and June, on the comms and I was getting worri- impatient,"_ Ratchet growled, " _Is everything okay your way though? It isn't like you or Agent Fowler to_ not  _respond to my comms."_

Breakdown looked around the empty desert before answering Ratchet with a frustrated sigh. "Ratchet… The Decepticons have both of the humans-"

" _WHAT?!"_

"Yeah, yeah, I know,  _I know_. Knock Out got them at the museum while they were getting the Predacon talon."

" _And?"_ Ratchet's tone left no question that he was not happy with Breakdown, which bothered Breakdown more than he would admit.

"I'm sorry, Ratchet. I went after Knock Out but he got away. I'm not sure where he got to," Breakdown admitted sourly, receiving a frustrated groan from Ratchet over the comms.

" _Do your best to find them, Breakdown. I'll see if I can send you an assist. You'll need it if you're chasing Knock Out,"_ Ratchet said, a sharp growl being the last thing Breakdown heard from the medic before Ratchet cut the comms off between the two of them.

"Great," Breakdown grumbled as he transformed into his alt mode and drove off in the direction he remembered hearing Knock Out race off in.

* * *

Breakdown pulled into an old rail yard slowly, transforming out of his alt mode as his gaze moved around the railyard. There were four sets of tracks, all of which were occupied but for one track that led down out of the railyard. As he was looking Breakdown's gaze fell on a set of tire tracks. Breakdown bent down next to the tracks, then snapped his gaze up at the distant sound of a train rumbling away down the tracks.

Quickly, Breakdown strood to his pedes, glancing down the empty railroad track for a moment before transforming back into his alt mode and racing down alongside the track. As Breakdown raced down the track he could hear the rumble of the train getting louder, meaning he was closing in on it.

After a few more minutes, Breakdown finally caught sight of the train.  _And Knock Out._

Knock Out did not seem to notice Breakdown as he barreled down on the Decepticon, engine throttling out a furious snarl. Knock Out finally noticed Breakdown, his brake lights flaring at Breakdown's snarl, then flaring off as the red Decepticon sped up. Breakdown pushed his engine to its max speed, doggedly keeping up with Knock out, if only for the fact that Knock Out's alt mode was not made for the rough terrain they were driving on.

As Breakdown closed in on Knock Out, two sets of lights appeared in the range of his mirror, one a single light and the other a pair. Breakdown tensed, expecting it to be Knock Out's reinforcements but when a small, blue motorcycle and a sleek, white sports car ranged up alongside Breakdown, he unconsciously released a sigh of relief.

" _What's happening?"_ Arcee asked over the comms, flashing her light at Breakdown as she headed him.

"Knock Out's got the humans. And a Predacon bone to boot."

"Oh _, great!"_ Wheeljack snarled, " _So Ratchet sent us to here because you couldn't keep track of two humans?_ Un-fragging-believable."

Breakdown didn't retort, though he let out a displeased growl from his engine as he turned his attention back to Knock Out. Arcee was closing in on Knock Out when, from out of nowhere, shots blasted the ground in front of her, Breakdown and Wheeljack.

" _Slag!"_ Wheeljack swore as he accidentally swerved into Breakdown to avoid a round of blasts that nearly hit him. Wheeljack yawed off of Breakdown as Arcee transformed out of her alt mode and began firing her blasters into the sky. Wheeljack continued after Knock Out as Breakdown followed Arcee's suit, firing his cannon at the small swarm of five Insecticons diving towards them.

One of Breakdown's shots hit a Insecticon in the chest, the large creature letting out a dying shriek of pain before it slammed into the railtrack with a deafening explosion. One of Arcee's shots took out another one of the Insecticons, though hers crashed into another one of the Insecticons, causing both to crash to the ground in an unceremonious explosion.

Breakdown and Arcee took out the last two Insecticons, then raced after Wheeljack and Knock Out. As Breakdown and Arcee caught up to Wheeljack, Breakdown could tell that Knock Out was getting nervous without backup and Breakdown and two Autobots hot on his trail.

" _We've got him-"_

Something huge crashed to the ground in front of Breakdown and the Autobots, cutting off their chase of Knock Out as all three slammed onto their brakes and transformed out of their alt modes in front of whatever had landed in front of them. As the dust began to settle, two huge, orange wings spread out, reaching from wingtip to wingtip across the canyon.

"The Predacon," Breakdown snarled, optic narrowing as the helm of the Predacon rose up and shook with a booming roar.

"What do we do?" Arcee asked, helm snapping to both Breakdown and Wheeljack as the Predacon began to walk towards them.

Breakdown inhaled deeply then snapped his gaze to Arcee. "Arcee, you go for Knock Out. Wheeljack and I will deal with the Predacon."

Arcee whirled a disbelieving gaze on Breakdown, optics widening. "But…"

"Just do it Arcee," Wheeljack snarled as he pulled his swords from their sheath on his back. Arcee looked between Breakdown and Wheeljack one last time then transformed into her alt mode and blasted away.

The Predacon watched her go but its attention was fully on Breakdown and Wheeljack, and for a moment Breakdown could have sworn he saw revenge blaze through its optics as it let out a low growl towards them.

Wheeljack turned to Breakdown, expression tight, "I'm relying on you Breakdown."

"The same could be said about you, Wheeljack," Breakdown hissed, then turned his attention back to the Predacon who was advancing closer and closer.

Together, Breakdown and Wheeljack tensed for battle, Breakdown with his shoulder cannon and hammer-servos and Wheeljack with his two swords.

Then the Predacon lunged.

Breakdown charged right for the Predacon, firing his cannon at the creature's armor relentlessly. The Predacon wasn't even fazed by Breakdown's shots and it showed it by practically flinging Breakdown away with a hard flick of its helm. Breakdown was sent flying into the canyon wall, collapsing to the ground with a stunned groan and a sharp shake of his helm.

As Breakdown got to his pedes, Wheeljack finally struck the Predacon. The former Wrecker had leapt from the side of the canyon and, with a furious flick of his swords, slashed two scars down the Predacon's throat.

With an annoyed screech, the Predacon wheeled its anger on Wheeljack, giving Breakdown the moment he needed to jump back into battle.

Breakdown switched his cannon to its missile mode and released one right at the wing joint of the Predacon. The missile hit and exploded right on cue, the force of the explosion throwing the Predacon to the ground, its huge helm scrubbing against the ground with a sharp screech. Breakdown switched his cannon back to its normal blaster mode, and began to pepper the Predacon's side with blast after blast.

Wheeljack was dodging and slashing his swords down the Predacon's flanks as the creature scrambled back onto its pedes. The Predacon struck at Wheeljack, but he dodged it as Breakdown smashed the Predacon's helm with a heavy swing of his hammer-servos. The Predacon hit the ground again, optic snapping onto Breakdown as its helm crashed to the ground with a furious roar.

The Predacon suddenly lashed out its taloned servo, the sharp metal tearing into Breakdown's chestplate with a fiery rush of pain. Breakdown stumbled backwards hurriedly, servo pressing against the two deep scars leaking energon down his chestplate.

Rage flooded through Breakdown's spark as the Predacon leapt back to its pedes and lunged for Breakdown, but instead of hitting Breakdown it was met with two sharp swords in its mouth. The Predacon leapt away from Breakdown and Wheeljack, who sidled up beside each other as the Predacon began to pace around them.

Wheeljack looked towards Breakdown giving him a stiff nod, which Breakdown returned. Wheeljack and Breakdown, at the same time, charged towards the Predacon, who returned their challenge by rushing towards them at the same time.

Wheeljack leapt up, Breakdown swung his servo down to catch Wheeljack as he landed on Breakdown's servo then, with a powerful thrust Breakdown threw Wheeljack towards the Predacon. Wheeljack let out a roar as he landed on the Predacon's helm, spinning his swords and plunging them into the Predacon's mouth. Breakdown rammed into the Predacon's chestplate as Wheeljack pulled back on the creature's mouth with his swords, dragging its helm skywards with a heaving grunt of pain.

Breakdown continued to push back against the Predacon, though it had begun to do the same with its own servos, pressing them against Breakdown. The Predacon's full weight began to bear down on Breakdown, but Breakdown continued to push back against the Predacon.

"Breakdown, NOW!" Wheeljack roared, as he ripped his swords from the Predacon's mouth and leapt off its helm. Breakdown fired another missile at the predacon, the explosion sending him and the Predacon flying to opposite ends of the canyon.

"Here," Wheeljack said above Breakdown, helping Breakdown to his pedes with a brief smile. Breakdown patted Wheeljack on the shoulderplate then turned back to where the Predacon was slowly getting to its pedes.

Before Breakdown could react the predacon lunged, blasting a hot stream of fire towards him and Wheeljack. Instinct moved Breakdown as he smashed Wheeljack to the ground and dropped himself, though he was not fast enough to avoid getting his back scorched by the flames. Breakdown gritted his denta as paint peeled from his back, but he continued to lay over Wheeljack as another burst of flame blazed over his back.

Finally, the flames stopped and so Breakdown moved off of Wheeljack, who leapt to his pedes nimbly.

"Breakdown?" Wheeljack's voice was concerned as he bent down to Breakdown's optic level, warily glancing towards the Predacon as it charged towards them. Wheeljack turned and charged the Predacon, the sound of his swords clashing against the Predacon's metal hide distant.

Breakdown shook away the waves of flaming pain in his helm, then scrambled to his pedes in time to see the Predacon grab Wheeljack in its mouth and bash him into the ground. His swords went flying as the Predacon swung Wheeljack back and forth in its jaws.

Then, the Predacon threw Wheeljack to the ground, raising its hooked servos over Wheeljack with a menacing snarl. Wheeljack let out a spark-curdling scream as the Predacon began to rip its long, hooked talons into Wheeljack's chassis, scraps of metal from his chassis being thrown skyward as the Predacon continued to thrash Wheeljack.

Breakdown screamed in rage, barreling into the Predacon before it could deal another blow to Wheeljack. The Predacon roared, then snapped its jaws over Breakdown, flinging him away from it. Breakdown hit the ground and began to struggle to his pedes but stopped when a large, yellow optic glared into his own yellow optic. The Predacon was even more menacing up close, with its huge mandibles clicking shut near Breakdown's helm and its optics seemed to stare straight into Breakdown's spark.

Suddenly the Predacon dug its long, hooked talons into Breakdown and, with a powerful thrust, threw him against the canyon wall again. Pain splintered through Breakdown's chassis as he slammed into the sharp, canyon rocks with an agonizing cry of pain. Fire raced down his back strut as the Predacon pressed him to the ground then ripped its talons from his back with a low, savage growl. A few tense moments passed then the Predacon's presence vanished from Breakdown, the thunder of its pedes fading.

Ignoring the pain, Breakdown scrambled to his pedes, whipping his gaze to where the Predacon was fighting with Wheeljack. Wheeljack was tiring, energon pouring from the shredded metal of his chestplate, as he fought the Predacon without his swords, which lay near Breakdown, the Predacon easily deflected the blasts from Wheeljack's guns.

Then the Predacon suddenly snapped its jaw over Wheeljack's entire right shoulderplate and, with its servo pressed against Wheeljack's chest began to tear into Wheeljack's shoulder. Wheeljack began to scream as the Predacon slowly started tearing his entire arm from his chassis.

Breakdown's gaze snapped to Wheeljack's swords, then back to his struggling companion. It was without hesitation that Breakdown snatched up Wheeljack's swords, one in each servo, and glared towards the Predacon.

"HEY!" Breakdown's shout snapped the Predacon's attention away from Wheeljack, whom it dropped, as Breakdown raised both of Wheeljack's swords up and activated his cannon.

The Predacon stepped over Wheeljack, who was holding his near-severed arm close to his chassis, and snapped open its wings with a challenging roar.

"Come on!" Breakdown roared at the Predacon, spinning Wheeljack's swords to get a better grip on them as he began his charge towards the Predacon. The Predacon shook out its wings with a threatening roar then charged towards Breakdown.

Breakdown ran towards the Predacon, who reared up on its back legs with an audial shattering roar before crashing back onto all four pedes and charging towards Breakdown. As the Predacon neared Breakdown, he slid beneath its underbelly, stabbing Wheeljack's swords into the metal of its belly.

The swords drove into its underbelly because of the momentum of the Predacon leaping over Breakdown, energon spilling over Breakdown as he ripped Wheeljack's swords from the Predacon's belly.

Breakdown wheeled around to face the Predacon, which was now glaring at him with a savage, animalistic look in its yellow optics. The creature began to coil its limbs up to spring towards Breakdown but something stopped it, its helm jerking sideways momentarily. The Predacon glared at Breakdown, then snapped its gaze to the sky, then Breakdown, then the sky, then finally with a frustrated roar it took off into the sky.

Breakdown sighed in relief, then suddenly he snapped his optic to Wheeljack, who was lying on the ground a short ways from Breakdown with streaks of energon pouring from his wounds.

"Wheeljack!" Breakdown cried, running to his companion and bending down beside the white Autobot. Wheeljack looked up at Breakdown weakly as Breakdown stared down at him, horror and worry intermingling in his spark.

Wheeljack gave a weak smile to Breakdown as he weakly held his near severed arm to his shoulderplate, "Thanks for having my back, Breakdown. I was… wrong about you. And… I was wrong back then at Tyger Pax…"

Breakdown shook his helm at Wheeljack. "Now is not the time, Wheeljack," Breakdown muttered as he began to help stop the flow of energon pouring from Wheeljack's wounds.

Wheeljack placed a servo on Breakdown's shoulderplate, drawing Breakdown away from what he was doing so he could look into Wheeljack's blue optics. A wracking cough shook Wheeljack's chassis as energon leaked from his mouth.

"You're a Wrecker. Always have been." Wheeljack's optics grew dull as his helm fell to the side and his chassis began to still.

"No, no, no…" Breakdown muttered, scrambling furiously to help Wheeljack.

Breakdown wheeled his gaze to where Arcee had raced after Knock Out then, with desperation blazing through his voice, screamed, "ARCEE!"


	26. Chapter 26

"ARCEE!" Breakdown screamed as he continued to desperately staunch Wheeljack's energon loss. Wheeljack's optics were dull, his breathing faint and the flow of energon from the wounds that had been inflicted upon him by the Predacon was ebbing, though Breakdown knew that was not a good sign.

"Come on, Wheeljack! Don't you do this," Breakdown snarled weakly, his voice beginning to shake as he stumbled away from Wheeljack, servos digging into his helm.

_I can't help him, I…_

"Breakdown!" Arcee's cry snapped Breakdown from his thoughts and to the two-wheeler hovering over him. Her optics were filled with fear as the two humans hovered behind her, both shuffling nervously as they stared at Breakdown.

Breakdown slowly gathered himself, getting to his pedes and slowly walking up to where Wheeljack was lying on the ground. Arcee followed after him, her entire chassis stiffening as she looked down on Wheeljack.

"Wheeljack…" Arcee whispered, bending down beside Wheeljack as she ran her servos down Wheeljack's wounds. She snapped her gaze to Breakdown, a scathing glare deep in her optics. "What happened to him?"

"Arcee, now is not the time to discuss what happened to Wheeljack? We need Ratchet if we have any chance of saving Wheeljack," Breakdown snarled, his words finally seeming to get to Arcee as she froze up and her optics widened.

"Ratchet! We need a Ground Bridge, stat!" Arcee shouted over the comms. Only a few moments passed in which Breakdown and Arcee had to wait for a Ground Bridge and, once it had opened, Breakdown picked up Wheeljack and ran through the Bridge.

* * *

"Put him here!" Ratchet ordered Breakdown as he skidded into the Autobot hanger base, Wheeljack in his arms with Arcee right behind Breakdown. Jack and Raf's eyes were wide as they stared at the limp, energon leaking form of Wheeljack in Breakdown's arms.

Breakdown followed Ratchet as they reached the makeshift medical bay, placing the injured Wheeljack on the medical slab. He backed away from the medical slab as Ratchet hurriedly began gathering tools for surgery, forgetting about his own injuries. Ratchet suddenly wheeled his gaze on Breakdown, which froze Breakdown in his tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ratchet snapped as he grabbed Breakdown's arm and pulled him down to his optic level.

"Uh…"

"You are going to help me. You saved my life months ago, Breakdown, so you are going to help me save Wheeljack's this time," Ratchet finished, his attention turning back to his tools, and Wheeljack, without waiting for Breakdown's response.

Breakdown didn't hesitate, taking his place alongside Ratchet as the orange medic began his work on Wheeljack. Together, the two mechs began their scramble to save Wheeljack, falling into seamless stride as medic and assistant.

Ratchet was pressing medical mesh, a metallic fiber, on Wheeljack's chestplate wounds to staunch his energon loss. Breakdown was doing the same for Wheeljack's near severed arm, slowly beginning the rewiring process of Wheeljack's arm to his shoulder. But time was their enemy, as everytime, every minute, the two mechs spent patching Wheeljack's wounds, his vitals dipped ever closer to death.

"Don't you dare die on me," Ratchet hissed, fear and anger battling in his voice as he began to weld Wheeljack's shredded chestplate back together.

Breakdown snatched up the mobile welder laid against Wheeljack's medical slab, activating it with a hiss of its hot flame. Methodically, Breakdown began the careful process of melding Wheeljack's arm back to his chassis, careful to avoid melting the wires he had only just reattached in Wheeljack's arm.

It took only ten minutes for Breakdown to properly reattach Wheeljack's arm, if only because of the fact that arm loss was one of the most common injuries the Vehicons had suffered when he had been Knock Out's medical assistant, so he knew that form of injury well. Once Breakdown had finished repairing Wheeljack's arm, after double checking its functionality, he moved aside Ratchet and began helping the medic repair Wheeljack's chassis.

As he helped Ratchet - his optic steadily watching Wheeljack's vitals lower - when the sound of engines depowering outside the Autobot base turned his attention away from Wheeljack. A few moments later, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus walked into the base, Bulkhead chatting amicably with Miko, who was sitting on his shoulder.

Miko was the first to notice something was odd, as her eyes widened and mouth hung open. Bulkhead noticed how Miko was acting odd and turned to follow her gaze, chassis stiffening as his optics fell on the limp form of Wheeljack lying on the medical slab.

"No!" Bulkhead shouted, which drew Ultra Magnus and Arcee's gazes onto him as the green mech charged towards where Wheeljack was being repaired.

Breakdown leapt in front of Bulkhead, bracing against the Autobot with a warning snarl emitting from his engine. Bulkhead scrambled against Breakdown, attempting to shove Breakdown away from him, but Breakdown continued to hold him back.

"Let me go!" Bulkhead cried out, punching Breakdown in the helm forcefully, causing Breakdown to let go of him and clutch his helm with one servo.

Ratchet wheeled around on Bulkhead, the enraged look in his optics halting Bulkhead in his tracks as the medic raised his welding torch servo towards Bulkhead.

"Stay back, Bulkhead," Ratchet warned icily, "You are doing Wheeljack no favors being hysterical and punching my assistant. Now  _back off_."

Bulkhead hesitated as Ratchet glowered at him and Breakdown walked past the Autobot, stopping beside Ratchet with a cold glare towards Bulkhead. Bulkhead relented and backed away from Breakdown and Ratchet.

Ratchet whipped around and continued helping Wheeljack, with Breakdown joining him a moment later. Finally the two medic's had Wheeljack stabilized, having stopped his energon loss by repairing his formerly torn chestplate.

But even with Wheeljack's wounds stabilized, the white Autobots vitals were dropping drastically. Ratchet moved with unbridled, furious desperation as he pulled out a set of Cybertronian defibrillators, hurriedly charging them. Once the defibrillators were charged - which took a few minutes - Ratchet pressed them against Wheeljack's chestplate ad released a burst of high, energon fueled electricity jolt through Wheeljack's entire frame.

Wheeljack's frame shot upward, optics snapping open with a wordless scream as his servos clenched into hooked claws before he collapsed back onto the medical slab.

The medic again sending a charge through Wheeljack's chassis with the defibrillators. Again Wheeljack's jolted up, but this time the spark monitor pulsed momentarily. Ratchet noticed that and once again sent a jolt into Wheeljack with the defibrillators.

That time it finally restarted Wheeljack's spark entirely. Wheeljack's optics snapped open with a short gasp, the blue, searching orbs shifting between Ratchet and Breakdown slowly.

"You're going to be okay," Ratchet assured Wheeljack as he placed a single servo on the white Autobot's shoulderplate.

"I saw…" Wheeljack didn't continue what he was going to say, his voice and gaze growing distant as he slowly lifted up the arm Breakdown had repaired. Helm tilting to the side, Wheeljack slowly clenched his servo shut then back open again, then lowered it back to its original resting place.

Breakdown sensed Bulkhead approaching slowly and moved to his right so Bulkhead could move up to Wheeljack. The green mech looked stricken as he stared down at the deplorable state of his friend's chassis, then suddenly pulled Wheeljack into a tight hug.

Wheeljack squirmed uncomfortably, servos pushing against Bulkhead without much conviction. "Bulk… Let me go, please."

"Oh, sorry Jackie!" Bulkhead gasped, releasing Wheeljack from his hug gently. Wheeljack gave a pained smile then turned his gaze back to Ratchet and Breakdown.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome Wheeljack," Ratchet sighed as he turned his back on his former patient, putting away his surgical tools as Breakdown headed to his berth.

* * *

Breakdown snapped awake to another rush of fiery pain stemming from his chestplate.

"Frag," he hissed as he quietly got to his pedes, slinking out of his berth with a quick glance around to make sure the rest of the Autobots were asleep. Assured they all were, Breakdown snuck up the stairs to the hanger portion of the Autobot base.

Glancing around, Breakdown slunk up to Ratchet's medical kit. As he reached for the kit, looking for something to ease the pain from his wounds, a sudden sharp cough behind his back caused him to start nervously. Breakdown spun around, servos clenching until he realized he was staring into the questioning optics of ratchet.

"Oh, it's just you, Ratchet," Breakdown muttered, releasing a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing out here, Breakdown?" Ratchet asked incredulously, crossing his arms with a short huff.

Breakdown looked away from Ratchet before sighing. "Just looking for something," he muttered quickly as he began to back away from Ratchet. Ratchet watched Breakdown for a few moments, confused until his gaze turned to the three deep scars slashing across Breakdown's chestplate.

Ratchet snatched Breakdown's arm, stopping him as he pointed an accusatorial digit to Breakdown's wounds. "What in the name of Primus are  _these_? You were injured and you didn't tell me?"

"No," Breakdown said evasively.

Ratchet let out a heavy sigh, pressing a servo to his faceplate for a moment. "Unbelievable."

"Wheeljack's injuries were more severe. These," Breakdown offhandedly indicated the deep scars, "were minor in comparison."

"I hate you," Ratchet hissed before he forcefully shoved Breakdown to the medical slab with a glower of his blue optics.

Breakdown shrugged in response, watching as Ratchet began sorting through his medical kit. A few moments later Ratchet had pulled out the tools he had been looking for and began repairing Breakdown.

Silence spread between medic and patient, an awkward, tense silence, until-

"Breakdown."

"Yes?"

"I have been meaning to talk to you for quite a few days," Ratchet began, drawing a wary look from Breakdown.

"About what?" Breakdown asked the medic rhetorically. He knew  _exactly_ what Ratchet was alluding to.

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at Breakdown's weary tone, a small frown curving down his faceplate as he deactivated the welding torch he was using and rested it against his leg. "Though I did not agree with all that you said… I can't deny any longer that I too share your thoughts on the Omega Lock's destruction. I felt so useless. I could do nothing but wait for word from Optimus, I was powerless to do anything for our planet."

Breakdown snorted, his optic rolling as Ratchet looked towards the ground.

"I could never say what you did to Optimus. You were brave, but foolish to do so," Ratchet said with a tired shrug. "But I believe it is good for Optimus to deal with someone like you."

"What do you mean?" Breakdown asked the Autobot icily.

"I mean that Optimus needs someone who is willing to challenge him. I have known Optimus for too long, care for him to much, to ever challenge him, but you don't have my sentiment for our leader. Every leader needs someone who goes against them, but the truly great ones are those that can accept challenges and disagreements from others," Ratchet explained, "Before you, no one went against Optimus."

"So?"

"So-" Ratchet sighed, then shook his helm, "What I'm trying to say is that I am still angered about the fate Optimus has set Cybertron on. I wanted to go home, our real home, but now? It seems I will never see Cybertron as it once was."

The medic grew eerily still as his optics dulled and his expression grew grim. Breakdown said nothing in response, creating an obvious silence between the two mechs.

"Everything is meaningless now," Breakdown muttered after a while, snapping Ratchet's optics back to him. "The war started because of disagreeing ideals on Cybertron. Then all of our fighting destroyed Cybertron. We should have all stopped the war at that point, but no. Neither side wanted to give in, even when the war became a superficial battle of two prideful leaders."

Breakdown looked over at Ratchet, the two mechs sharing the same defeated look.

"And now we lost Cybertron forever. Why can't we just end this fighting before the entirety of our race goes extinct?" Breakdown asked rhetorically.

"Because neither side wants to admit they lost."

* * *

A few days had passed since Breakdown and Ratchet's conversation, fairly uneventful days too. All the Autobots had done in those days was look for more Predacon bones, to no success any day. It was before dawn when Breakdown was scrolling through a datapad with utter boredom, not even paying attention to what was on the screen.

"Ratchet?" Optimus' voice snapped Breakdown's gaze from the datapad and to where the Autobot leader and Ratchet were standing to the side of the base. Ratchet was fiddling with something on one of the base's systems, but stopped, turning to Optimus with a blank expression.

"Yes, Optimus?"

"I am worried about you, old friend," Optimus began as he placed a servo against Ratchet's shoulderplate, "You have been very subdued lately. Has something happened that you would like to discuss?"

"No, Optimus," Ratchet said evasively as he turned back to the Ground Bridge control and started fiddling with it once more. Optimus tilted his helm slightly, a worried frown curving his mouth downwards.

"Does it have to do with Wheeljack's injuries?" Optimus queried, receiving a groan of irritation from Ratchet.

"No, it has  _nothing_ to do with Wheeljack. He is well on his way to being fighting fit once more, Optimus."

"That is good news-"

"Optimus," Ratchet interrupted, "please let me work in peace." Optimus raised an optic ridge but relented, turning on his heel with a soft sigh from his vents as he walked away from Ratchet. Optimus walked past Breakdown, acknowledging him with a nod, but continued on his path outside of the base.

Breakdown watched after the Autobot for a bit then, with a shrug of his shoulderplates, resumed looking at his datapad. A few hours passed in the same fashion with no change to anything until Ultra Magnus entered the base and walked up to Ratchet, who was still working on the base's computer.

"Doctor?" Ultra Magnus said as he stopped behind Ratchet. "What is the current status of your synthetic energon experiments?"

 _That_ piqued Breakdown's interest, so he shut off the datapad and watched Ultra Magnus and Ratchet.

"Doing the best I can, Commander" Ratchet replied cooly, "given the lack of functional equipment at my disposal."

Ultra Magnus' vents hissed, "You do realize that an alternative energy source may be essential for our survival?"

Ratchet let out a strained, humorless laugh, turning his helm slightly towards Ultra Magnus. "Believe me, Ultra Magnus, no one is more acutely aware of the stakes than I am."

 _Like getting crazed on energon?_ Breakdown thought sarcastically, recalling the last time the Autobots had had anything to do with synthetically produced energon.

Ultra Magnus, obviously displeased with Ratchet's reply, let out a long sigh before nodding to Ratchet. "Of course," Ultra Magnus relented, walking away from Ratchet as the medic began his work once more.

Ultra Magnus approached Bulkhead, Smokescreen, Arcee and Bumblebee, who were all busy working on a different computer in the base.

"Beast Hunters! May I ask why you are  _not_ currently scouting Grid 305 for Predacon bones?" Ultra Magnus snapped, his question drawing all four autobots attention to him.

"Because we've just returned from surveying Grids 301 to 304!" Arcee snapped tensely.

Bulkhead cut off the rest of her words with a jaunted cough, "To log our field reports, per your protocol Commander Magnus, sir."

Breakdown covered up a snort with one servo, his optic rolling skyward.  _Aft kisser_.

Ultra Magnus, surprisingly, seemed satisfied by their explanation, giving them a respectful nod. But Ultra Magnus' satisfaction did not last as the heavy sound of Wheeljack entering the base drew his attention away from the four Autobots standing before him.

Wheeljack did not show any sign of his near brush with death as he walked into the base, scrapping green liquid from his chassis as Ultra Magnus wheeled on the white Autobot.

"Soldier? I don't recall giving you permission to leave the base," Ultra Magnus snapped.

Wheeljack flicked a servo and looked, uninterested, at Ultra Magnus. "That's because you didn't.  _Sir_."

"Then why are your servos covered with coolant?" Ultra Magnus growled, pointing out the green liquid lathered over Wheeljack.

"I, uh, recalibrated your ship's engines," Wheeljack explained, "You can expect a 10% increase vector thrust."

Just as Wheeljack finished his sentence a loud roar of engines depowering outside drew Ultra Magnus, and the others, gazes towards the base's entrance. Optimus had just landed, the wings of his permanent jetpack folding into the pack with a loud snap as the Autobot leader walked into the base.

The Autobots rushed up to Optimus, all of them greeting him happily. Breakdown stayed where he was, noting the obvious fact that Ultra Magnus did not rush up to Optimus as the other Autobots had.

 _He feels as out of place as I do_ , Breakdown realized, unhappy to find himself relating in a way to Ultra Magnus.

* * *

Later that same day, Breakdown and the Autobots - minus Optimus and Ultra Magnus, who were talking by the entrance - were gathered around the main computer in the base. Ratchet was at the controls as they were scanning for any Decepticon signatures, with no luck so far.

"Where do you think they-" Arcee began when the computer suddenly flared and began displaying a detailed map of a energon mine location.

"Optimus," Ratchet called out, drawing the prime's and Ultra Magnus' attention towards him, "Our scanners have detected exposed energon."

Optimus said nothing for a few moments, expression calm as he looked down to Ultra Magnus. "With our reserves at a critical low, we cannot afford to investigate."

Ultra Magnus nodded in agreement as he and Optimus walked up to where Breakdown and the others were standing. Ratchet pointed a servo to the computer screen, "Here, in the Black Hills of South Dakota."

"South Dakota?" Breakdown interjected, drawing an ired look from Ultra Magnus, "There's no energon mine there, at least not when I was still with the Decepticons. So why would we be detecting one there now?"

"Maybe Megatron never told you every location of his energon mines, Breakdown. Ever think about that?" Arcee quipped, servos crossing over her chestplate as she sent Breakdown a raised optic ridge.

Breakdown glared down at Arcee, engine letting out a low growl, "And what, Arcee, you think you know more about the Decepticon energon mine locations than I do? I'm surprised, I didn't know you were so knowledgeable-"

"Enough,"Ultra Magnus barked behind Breakdown, cutting off the rest of his sarcastic reply to Arcee. "You two will defer to your leader, and  _top_ arguing."

Arcee grumbled something under her breath but respectfully bowed her helm, "Yes, Ultra Magnus."

Ultra Magnus glanced towards Breakdown, optic ridge raised as the blue Autobot waited for his response.

"Oh, fine."

"Good," Ultra Magnus replied, turning to Optimus, who in turn looked towards Ratchet.

"Ratchet, prepare a Ground Bridge. Autobots, roll out."

* * *

The Ground Bridge opened up on the cliff above the energon mine.

 _Well, then,_  Breakdown shrugged,  _there really_ is  _a mine here. Odd. But, I_ personally  _scouted this area out and there was no sign of energon at all when I came. This is not right..._

"Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Arcee flank to the entrance. Wreckers, you will stay beside me," Optimus whispered, signaling for Breakdown and the others to follow him to the edge of the cliff. Breakdown, still too busy thinking didn't notice the Autobots leaving him behind until Optimus' voice boomed out once more.

"Decepticons! You will step away from the energon and surrender!" That time, Breakdown payed attention, in time to see Ultra Magnus leap from the cliff along with Wheeljack and Bulkhead.

"Aw, scrap," Breakdown swore, running up alongside Optimus, who was firing down at the swarm of Vehicons as the Wreckers and Ultra Magnus fought them from below. Optimus stopped firing at the Vehicons to give Breakdown a strange look, then leaped from the cliff, crushing a Vehicon under his servo.

Breakdown scrambled after Optimus, thudding to the ground with a loud thud of his pedes. Breakdown straightened up and moved with Optimus as the Autobot leader approached carts full of energon. Smokescreen walked up to one of the carts, picking up a small crystal of raw energon.

"Look at all the sweet fuel," he commented, shooting a happy glance towards Optimus.

Optimus looked towards Arcee, Bumblebee and Smokescreen, "Stealth team, transport our cargo back to base. Wreckers, reconnoiter the mine."

Smokescreen leapt forwards as Optimus finished his orders, voice giddy as he said, "I've always wanted to roll with the Wreckers!" Smokescreen was practically bouncing out of his chassis as he looked towards Optimus, optics pleading, until he suddenly tightened up his frame, "Uh, Sir!"

Optimus looked towards Smokescreen then to Ultra Magnus, then smiled. "That is fine, Smokescreen. Arcee, Bumblebee, I will help you transport the energon carts to base."

"Yes!" Smokescreen said, pumping a servo gleefully as he bounded up to Ultra Magnus and Breakdown.

 _Great_ , Breakdown thought as Smokescreen shot him an insufferable happy look,  _my favorite thing in the universe, mechs who just won't shut up._

Once Wheeljack and Bulkhead had walked up to Ultra Magnus, the Autobot signaled for all of them to follow his suit.

Optic rolling, Breakdown followed, noting that Smokescreen, for an odd reason, was hanging close by his side, still unable to hold back the giddy step in his stride. The five of them - Breakdown, Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, Smokescreen and Bulkhead - walked into the mine's entrance and were almost immediately swamped by darkness.

Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon as the others did the same with their weapons, all tensely watching for any sign of a Decepticon attack.

"No signs of energon signals," Bulkhead noted as they walked down the mine's tunnel.

"And no additional security," Wheeljack said, bending down to the cavern floor in front of Breakdown, who halted beside Wheeljack, "something doesn't smell right."

"Didn't I tell you there was no energon mine in this location?" Breakdown growled, earning a glare from Ultra Magnus. "Well, I did, Magnus. But no one listens to the resident 'evil' former Decepticon."

Ultra Magnus didn't say anything in response to Breakdown as something else caught the Autobot's attention. Ultra Magnus signaled for Breakdown and the others to follow him as he ran down the tunnel, coming to a stop at a two-way intersection in the tunnel.

"Bulkhead, Smokescreen, Breakdown, take the left tunnel. Wheeljack and I will take the right," Ultra Magnus instructed, signaling with his transformed servo as he ordered each group to their respective directions.

Breakdown sighed and followed behind Bulkhead and Smokescreen as the three headed down the left branch of the tunnel. As they walked, Smokescreen fell back to where Breakdown was trailing, blue optics wide with the same giddiness he always seemed unflowing with.

"Yes, Smokescreen?" Breakdown intoned without looking towards the young Autobot.

"Nothing, it's just really exciting to be working alongside the Wreckers," Smokescreen explained as he jumped in front of Breakdown, forcing Breakdown to stop walking.

"Whatever," Breakdown grumbled as he, admittedly gently, shoved Smokescreen out of the way to continue walking down the tunnel after Bulkhead. Smokescreen hesitated for a few moments then ran after Breakdown, the small mech having to jog to even keep up with Breakdown's long, walking strides.

"Wait, Breakdown," Smokescreen said beside him, receiving a glare from Breakdown as he continued to jog alongside him, "I really do mean what I said, I loved reading the stories of the Wreckers back when I was a young cadet on Cybertron. Bulkhead and Wheeljack both have told me you were a Wrecker-"

Breakdown shot Smokescreen a glare, but the young mech didn't seem fazed by his look as he continued to talk.

"And, I never read about you in any of the annals of the Wreckers. And Wheeljack and Bulkhead don't say anything about it, and I know you were a Decepticon for awhile-"

Breakdown stopped suddenly, glaring down at Smokescreen, who withered under his glare this time, "What does it matter to you, Smokescreen? History is history and everyone tells it differently, including your precious annals. Now leave me alone."

Smokescreen averted his gaze, door-wing kibble falling against his backstrut as Breakdown stomped away from the young Autobot. Breakdown caught up to Bulkhead, ignoring the strange look Bulkhead gave him as their tunnel merged back to the two way branch off that had split the group from Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack. Smokescreen caught up to Breakdown and Bulkhead, then peered down the tunnel Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus had walked down.

"Should we go after Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack? There was nothing down our tunnel," Smokescreen asked, his tone subdued as he looked up at Bulkhead.

Bulkhead looked down at Smokescreen and shook his helm, "Nah, I doubt if we saw something they will. Let's get back to Optimus and the others."

Smokescreen shrugged, and followed after Bulkhead as the green mech walked down the tunnel they had originally came from. Breakdown hesitated instead, looking down the tunnel where Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus had gone.

Shaking his helm, Breakdown followed after Smokescreen and Bulkhead.

None of the three talked to each other as they walked down the rest of the tunnel, finally reaching the entrance. As they stepped out into daylight a sudden, loud explosion rocked the entire ground, originating from somewhere inside the energon mine.

"Whoa! What was that?" Smokescreen gasped, whipping around to the mine's entrance alongside Breakdown and Bulkhead.

"I have no idea!" Bulkhead answered, "But Wheeljack is in there! He might be in danger-"

"Bulkhead!" Optimus' commanding voice silenced Bulkhead and drew his, Breakdown and Smokescreen's gazes to him. "Calm down. Get back to base, I will investigate what happened."

"But, Optimus, Jackie-"

Optimus silenced Bulkhead with a stern glare, then shot Breakdown a look that said,  _get him back to base_ , then ran into the mine. Breakdown latched his servo onto Bulkhead's arm, giving the worried mech a hard tug towards the open Ground Bridge.

Bulkhead wheeled a worried gaze to Breakdown, "Breaky-"

Breakdown stumbled away from Bulkhead at the sound of the nickname Bulkhead had given him back when he was a Wrecker. "Wha-"

Bulkhead didn't seem to notice Breakdown's reaction as he locked his servos onto Breakdown's arms and stared into his optics. "Breaky, we have to save Jackie, we can't let him die, we can't, it's not right…"

Breakdown finally got his wits about him and shoved Bulkhead off of him, turning to Smokescreen, who flinched at Breakdown's sudden attention. "Help me get Bulkhead into the Ground Bridge.  _Now_."

"Uh, okay," Smokescreen said with a quick shake of his helm, then latched onto Bulkhead, who was still muttering about Wheeljack as they drug him through the Ground Bridge.

* * *

"Where is Optimus? And Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus?" Ratchet roared as Breakdown and Smokescreen drug Bulkhead through the Ground Bridge. Smokescreen let go of Bulkhead to answer Ratchet.

"There was an explosion in the mine, Optimus went to go investigate it," Smokescreen explained hurriedly as Breakdown let go of Bulkhead, who was nervously biting at his servos as he stared at the spot where the Ground Bridge had been deactivated.

"Optimus? Optimus!?" Ratchet yelled over the comms, releasing an irritated sigh as no reply came over the comms. Ratchet continued to call Optimus' name over the comms until a sudden, loud crackle interrupted him.

" _Ratchet! Open a Ground Bridge, now!"_ Optimus called over the comms sharply.

Ratchet went into a flurry, his servos moving with lightning-like speed across the Ground Bridge control, then pulled the lever to activate the Ground Bridge. The Ground Bridge roared to life and, just a moment later, Optimus flew in with an unconscious Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack cradled under each arm.

Optimus skidded to a halt, his jet pack deactivating and wings snapping against his back strut as he lowered both unconscious mechs to the ground.

Ratchet hurried up to Optimus, reaching to scan Optimus but the Autobot leader shook his helm and indicated Ultra Magnus.

"Both are injured, Ratchet, but I do not know how seriously," Optimus explained as Ratchet bent down to Wheeljack's prone form. Breakdown moved up to Ratchet and bent down also, indicating that he would check Wheeljack. Ratchet nodded and moved to Ultra Magnus, rolling the large mech onto his side with a sharp gasp.

Breakdown snapped his gaze to Ratchet and Ultra Magnus, servo laid gently on Wheeljack's chassis, shock splintering through his chassis at the sight of Ultra Magnus' mangled right servo.

"Scrap."

* * *

"Ratchet will take good care of you, Breakdown too," Optimus said assuredly, looking down at Ultra Magnus, who was on the medical slab with Ratchet hovering over his torn servo worriedly. Ultra Magnus sighed then turned his gaze to where the other Autobots were hovering over Wheeljack.

"Magnus fought like a Wrecker," Wheeljack said.

"Optimus, when we talked earlier… What could be greater than an army?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"A human concept. One I have learned since coming to Earth."

Optimus turned to the mechs surrounding the injured Ultra Magnus and said one word.

"Family."


	27. Chapter 27

"Ouch," Wheeljack growled as he yanked his injured arm away from Breakdown's welder. "Go easy would you?"

Breakdown rolled his optic as he tightened his grip on Wheeljack's arm, making the Autobot grind his denta painfully. "When you stop fidgeting, Wheeljack, I'll be able to fix your arm without 'hurting' you."

Wheeljack grumbled something under his breath but stilled his fidgeting. Close to the two mechs was Ratchet, who was busy repairing Ultra Magnus wrist joint and making him a new servo.

"What happened this time?" Breakdown asked, subtly turning his helm to Ultra Magnus.

"It was the Predacon, again. But this time, it transformed-"

"Transformed?" Breakdown repeated, bewildered.

"Yeah," Wheeljack scoffed, "that's what I thought too. But apparently it can transform just as you and I can."

"That's insane," Breakdown commented, receiving a quick nod from Wheeljack.

"I know," Wheeljack muttered, growing quiet to allow Breakdown to finish repairing his arm in silence. When Breakdown finished his repairs, Wheeljack swung his arm in a circle then clenched his servo a few times.

"Good as new," Wheeljack commented as he lowered his arm to his side with the faintest of smiles.

"Sure," Breakdown said coolly as he shifted to his pedes and turned away from Wheeljack. Breakdown ignored the sound of Wheeljack scrambling to his pedes behind him; that is until Wheeljack leapt in front of Breakdown, forcing Breakdown to look down at the white Autobot.

"What now, Wheeljack?" Breakdown asked with a deep sigh as Wheeljack shuffled closer to him, blue optics flicking around the darkened base momentarily before he looked up at Breakdown.

"I've been meaning to say thanks," Wheeljack explained, "Thanks for saving me from the Predacon. It would have killed me if you hadn't distracted it. I had doubted your loyalty for months, but I see that I was wrong-"

"Well, what did you expect me to do, Wheeljack? I didn't want to fight the Predacon alone," Breakdown snapped, hiding the fact that he was lying. He had grown to care for the Autobots, even if they did annoy him and he couldn't agree with a lot of their decisions, and he couldn't imagine letting the Predacon kill Wheeljack.

Wheeljack, still standing in front of Breakdown, sighed then shook his helm, "Whatever, Breakdown. But, I want you to know that I regret doubting you. You are still the same Breakdown that I knew in the Wreckers."

"Thanks," Breakdown grumbled sarcastically, "That's just nice."

"Stop being so stubborn, Breakdown!" Wheeljack snapped, optics flaring angrily, "I am speaking from the deepest part of my spark-"

"I don't care-"

Wheeljack stomped his pede forcefully and let out a loud snarl from his engine, cutting off what Breakdown was beginning to say.

"I know why you betrayed the Wreckers, Breakdown. I couldn't have seen it back then, no, I didn't  _want_ to see it then, but now I do. You turned on us because we did anything to stop Sharpclaw. You wouldn't have turned to the Decepticons otherwise would you, Breakdown?"

Breakdown looked away from Wheeljack for a brief moment then, with a tired sigh turned his gaze back to Wheeljack.

"I would never have left the Wreckers if not for being left for dead," Breakdown admitted, "I…"

Wheeljack placed one servo on Breakdown's shoulder plate reassuringly, "I understand." With that, Wheeljack turned and walked away, ever so slightly favoring the arm Breakdown had repaired. Breakdown watched Wheeljack leave then walked up to Ratchet, who had just finished replacing Ultra Magnus' ruined servo.

Ratchet looked up at Breakdown, then slowly straightened up to his pedes with an exhausted sigh. "Wheeljack?"

"He'll be fine. Sore, and possibly have some reduction of his normal range of motion for a while, but fine."

"Good. I have done all I can for Ultra Magnus, but with what few resources we have i was not able to make a real servo for him. He will have to do with this," Ratchet flicked a disgusted look towards Ultra Magnus' new servo, a three pronged, hooked servo, " _thing_."

"Ratchet, you did as well as any mech could in this situation," Breakdown said to Ratchet, who was glaring down at the floor of the base. Ratchet shook his helm in defeat, then looked towards Breakdown.

"I want to keep an eye on Ultra Magnus, make sure that he stays stable, but-"

"Ratchet, I'll watch him. You get rest, I'll be fine."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Breakdown."

"Of course, Ratchet."

* * *

"Dude, what happened to Ultra Magnus?" Breakdown sighed heavily as the sound of Miko's voice drew his tired gaze to the platform closest to him and Ultra Magnus. Jack, Miko and Raf had gathered on the platform and were gawking down at Ultra Magnus in varied states of shock.

"The Predacon crushed his original servo," Breakdown explained, pointing to Ultra Magnus' new servo, "and that is all Ratchet could do to replace it."

Miko didn't ask anymore questions about Ultra Magnus, though she, Raf and Jack continued to watch Ultra Magnus. After a bit Optimus and the rest of the Autobots came out from their berths and walked over to where Breakdown and Ultra Magnus were.

"Hi, guys!" Miko called out, waving ecstatically to Optimus, Ratchet, Smokescreen and Wheeljack. Ratchet walked over to Breakdown and Ultra Magnus, checking Ultra Magnus' servo with a scanner.

Optimus nodded to Miko then turned to Ratchet, who turned to all of the Autobots.

"I have done everything I can, considering my equipment and less than ideal spare parts," Ratchet explained as he walked up to Optimus, "It remains uncertain if Ultra Magnus' new appendage will be fit for battle. Though it should prove functionable, after the requisite therapy."

"That is all we can hope for, old friend," Optimus said, earning a nod from Ratchet.

"Prime! We have trouble brewing! The 'Cons staged a smash and grab over at the Los Alamos Nuclear Plant, late last night. They took three tons of control rods," Agent Fowler suddenly interrupted, running up on the platform closest to them.

"What are the Decepticons looking to build?" Optimus asked Agent Fowler rhetorically.

"I have no idea, but I will be monitoring for more Decepticon activity," Agent Fowler said, then turned and rushed back into his office inside the Autobot base.

Optimus turned to Breakdown and the Autobots, his expression turning dark, "Ratchet, we must monitor all frequencies for Decepticon activity. We don't know what plans Megatron has, but I doubt they are good."

* * *

" _Prime,"_ Agent Fowler said over the comms later that day, " _it's 'Cons again, in progress this time."_

"Coordinates received Agent Fowler," Ratchet said as he pulled the Ground Bridge levers, activating the portal.

Ultra Magnus, recovered enough to walk, moved towards the Ground Bridge, his servos clenching together, "Autobots, let's roll."

"Your ability to roll remains predicated upon further exploration of your manual dexterity," Ratchet snapped, stopping Ultra Magnus with one raised servo. Ultra Magnus glanced down at his new servo, which whirred and whined pathetically as he attempted to move it.

"I'm afraid that Ratchet's authority supersedes my own in medical matters," Optimus said as he walked up to the second in command. Ultra Magnus looked up to Optimus, then shook his helm angrily.

"Understood," Ultra Magnus sighed, bowing his helm respectfully as Optimus turned to the est of the Autobots in the base.

"Breakdown, Ratchet and Ultra Magnus, you three will stay here. Monitor the scanners and if anything, any sign of activity, shows, tell me."

"Yes, sir," Ultra Magnus saluted and, as the rest of the Autobots raced through the Ground Bridge, pressed his undamaged servo to his helm and let out a high rattle of frustration escape from his engine.

* * *

Breakdown had set to pacing for the last half-hour since Optimus and the Autobots had left, optic snapping between the main computer screen in the base and where Ratchet and Ultra Magnus were talking to each other.

 _What is Megatron planning?_ Breakdown wondered, servo pressed against his chin as he paced,  _With Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus destroying the Predacons, what could Megatron want with earth technology?_

" _Ratchet, reopen the Ground Bridge, but ensure that the humans are kept at a safe distance. For we will be returning with a Decepticon prisoner,"_ Optimus called over the comms, snapping Breakdown out of his pacing to stare at the computer screen showing Optimus' comms signal.

"Prisoner?" Breakdown muttered, "Who?"

Breakdown didn't have long to wait for an answer as Ratchet reopened the Ground Bridge and, just moments later, Optimus, Wheeljack and Bulkhead walked through the Bridge with-  _SOUNDWAVE?_

"Soundwave?" Breakdown gasped, jolting backwards at the sight of the unconscious Decepticon, fear stabbing into his spark. "This is not good, no, no, no…"

Breakdown watched as the three carrying Soundwave placed the silent meh upon the now-empty medical slab Ultra Magnus had once been occupying. Ratchet moved over to them and, without a word shared between the four of them, activated energon-braces that clamped Soundwave's legs, arms and chest to the slab.

Once Optimus, Ratchet, Wheeljack and Bulkhead had finished placing the clamps on Soundwave, all four backed away from the menacing, still Decepticon. Slowly, Breakdown moved closer to the rest of the Autobots, optic shifting over Soundwave's chassis.

 _Wait… Where is Laserbeak?_ Breakdown suddenly realized, noticing the obvious fact that Soundwave's Deployer was missing from its normal place on his chestplate.

No one else seemed to notice the fact that Laserbeak was gone, when suddenly Soundwave began to thrash under the restraints.

"Since we had the foresight to shield our base," Ratchet's words stopped Soundwave's thrashing and turned his attention to the medic as he continued to talk, "so our captive won't be able to transmit his coordinates to the Decepticon warship."

"Nor will they in turn be able to pinpoint his location," Optimus added. Breakdown wasn't as certain as Optimus about that, not with Laserbeak mysteriously vanished. But Breakdown didn't voice his thoughts as Wheeljack added his own voice to the group.

"Guess this means we will have all the time in the world to make Mister Personality tell us everything he knows."

Optimus looked towards Wheeljack briefly then bent down to look into Soundwave's visor.

"Why is Megatron stealing human technology. What is he attempting to build?" Optimus questioned, his tone biting.

Sounwave said nothing except to replay Optimus' question, mockingly pitching Optimus' voice higher and lower as he continued to replay his question. Optimus' engine growled unhappily, the Autobot leader obviously displeased by Soundwave's comparative attitude. After a few more seconds of replaying Optimus' voice, Soundwave displayed a small, purple smiley face on his visor.

Optimus stepped back, disgust and anger stiffening his chassis. Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee all activated their gun servos and aimed them at Soundwave.

"Why don't we wipe that smile from his face?" Bulkhead growled.

Optimus ignored him, gaze still locked on Soundwave. "Soundwave, we have treated you fairly. For the sake of the natives of the this planet, tell us what Megatron is attempting to build. Before we are forced to rely on less  _civil_ methods of interrogation."

Soundwave suddenly produced a high-pitched whirring noise, making Breakdown and the other Autobots stumble back, servos clenching their helms as the sound dug into their processors painfully.

Finally, Soundwave cut off the high-pitched noise, leaving each mech to shake their helms to clear away the pain.

"Scrap this!" Ratchet suddenly snarled, "Soundwave is no ordinary Cybertronian, inside  _or_ out! So I would  _strongly_ suggest opening him up, so we can have a first hand look at the information recorded in his drives."

Breakdown had to glance twice towards Ratchet,  _did I hear him right?_ The other Autobots seemed just as shocked as Breakdown by Ratchet's suggestion, with Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee's mouths falling open as they shared bewildered gazes between themselves.

Soundwave's visor began to display a set of Cybertronian codes, then a row of red colored codes took center of his visor.

"Uh-oh," Arcee muttered.

"All right! He's downloading data!" Bulkhead said.

"No!" Ratchet snarled, "Soundwave is  _erasing_ data!" As Ratchet said that, all of the codes that Soundwave had displayed on his visor began to vanish until all that was left was the normal jet-black color of his visor.

Slowly, Soundwave raised himself up, turned his helm towards the Autobots and, with cold finality said, "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior."

Breakdown's mouth fell open speechlessly.  _Soundwave… talks?_

Soundwave's visor created the sound of scratching then, as it faded away, he fell back against the slab without another sound.

"Is he?" Bulkhead suggested worriedly.

"His vitals signs," Ratchet explained as he scanned Soundwave's frame, "remain functional. It seems he has simply severed any communications, by crashing his own drives."

"Well, that just sucks," Smokescreen commented, servo flicking towards Soundwave's prone form.

Breakdown backed away from Soundwave, and the Autobots, gaze turning warily to the base's hangar windows.

_Soundwave would never leave Laserbeak behind, so I highly doubt Laserbeak would do the same._

* * *

Tension was palpable in the base as they watched Soundwave's still prone form. It was late that same day, the darkness of night flooding into the base. Breakdown still did not like the idea of Soundwave being in their base, if only because he knew Soundwave too well to ever be comfortable anywhere near him - Primus, he wasn't even comfortable around Soundwave when he was on the  _Nemesis_.

" _Hey Prime, I'm on my way to the base, but I just got word that the 'Cons busted into the Solaris Particle Collider near the South Pole,"_ Agent Fowler, who had left the base that afternoon for a while, said over the comms.

Optimus angled his gaze to the Autobots gathered behind him. "Autobots," he said shortly.

Ultra Magnus walked forwards and step or two, then clenched his new servo together with a hiss of hydraulics. Ratchet whipped his gaze to Ultra Magnus, warningly snapping at him.

"Doc," Wheeljack interjected, "Commander is ready." Ratchet looked up at Ultra Magnus, who gave him a pleading look from his optics, then let out a long sigh as he walked past Wheeljack.

"Fine, fine," Ratchet relented, though he obviously didn't think the same as he said.

"Bulkhead," Optimus said, drawing the attention of Bulkhead and the others, "Smokescreen, Breakdown. Remain here with Ratchet to guard our prisoner. Everyone else, transform and roll out!"

Breakdown moved out of Optimus' way as he, and the others, charged through the Ground Bridge Ratchet had just opened for them. Once the Ground Bridge closed, Breakdown noticed Bulkhead and Smokescreen turn towards Soundwave once more.

"Can't we throw a tarp over him?" Bulkhead suggested, "He's creeping me out."

"Yeah," Smokescreen agreed, servos waving around in front of Soundwave's visor, "It's like he's watching us. No matter where you go."

"Would both of you stop focusing on what Soundwave can or cannot see, and help me figure out what he did not tell!" Ratchet snapped behind them, causing Smokescreen and Bulkhead to whip around and look up at the fuming medic. "Like why Megatron would be interested in something believed to generate enough power to create a black hole?"

Smokescreen shuffled his pedes, door wings falling against his back as Ratchet snarled at them and stormed over to the main computer, servos flashing over its controls. Breakdown walked over to Ratchet then gently tapped him on the shoulder plate.

"What Smokescreen?" Ratchet snapped before he whirled around on Breakdown, though he did jolt back slightly when he saw it wasn't Smokescreen bothering him. "Oh, Breakdown. What is it?"

Breakdown pointed towards Soundwave, Ratchet raising an optic ridge as he looked towards Breakdown after glancing at Soundwave.

"What?"

"Did you notice anything off about Soundwave?" Breakdown asked Ratchet, optic turning down to the medic quietly.

Ratchet hesitated, his gaze turning back to Soundwave for a brief moment then, with a shake of his helm, back to Breakdown. "No, what- Wait,  _Laserbeak_?"

"Exactly," Breakdown hedged, "Laserbeak is missing. And, last I remember, Soundwave  _never_ would leave Laserbeak behind."

"Scrap," Ratchet swore, smashing a servo against the control panel as he pressed one servo against his faceplate. "Let us hope that Laserbeak is not able to detect Soundwave through our base's shielding."

"Let's hope," Breakdown muttered, just as Smokescreen came running up to the two of them.

"Ratchet, why would Megatron want to make a black hole? I wouldn't imagine even Megatron is that evil. Does he want to swallow up the known universe?"

"And everything in it," Bulkhead growled.

"No, no!" Ratchet said, "He would merely want to harness the power of something capable of swallowing worlds, in order to… create one. Oh my."

"What? What is it?" Smokescreen asked as Ratchet whipped his full attention to the computer, clicking a few buttons to activate the base's comms.

"Optimus, I know this seems hardly the time, but it may aid you in your task."

" _Go ahead,"_ Optimus replied over the comms.

Ratchet nodded, then continued, "I believe that Megatron may be attempting to rebuild the Omega Lock-"

"What?" Breakdown hissed, gaze snapping to Bulkhead and Smokescreen, who both looked as shocked as Breakdown felt.

"-Do we let him?" Ratchet finished, hope scraping at the back of his voice.

" _No-"_

"Oh, come on," Breakdown snarled under his breath.

" _-for you know as well as I that Megatron would use a reconstructed Omega Lock to cyberform both Cybertron and Earth. And that is one abuse of power that we cannot allow."_

"Understood," Ratchet sighed, cutting off the comms without looking up at the screen.

"Understood?" Breakdown growled, drawing Ratchet's attention to him. "You just going to let Cybertron go.  _Again_?"

Ratchet only shot Breakdown a defeated look before turning his attention back to the control screen.

"Ratchet? It may not be with the Forge or the Omega Lock," Smokescreen said, "but we are going to find a way to get our planet repaired."

"How-"

Suddenly, with the sound of shattering glass, Laserbeak burst into the base, zipping over the hanger's rafters.

"Oh, no," Ratchet exclaimed, just as Laserbeak let loose a flurry of blasts at Breakdown, Ratchet, Smokescreen and Bulkhead. All four ducked as Laserbeak swooped overhead, blasts hitting the base's walls, and nearly hitting Smokescreen's backstrut. Laserbeak flew up to and hovered over Soundwave, blasting away the restraints holding down the Decepticon.

Smokescreen scrambled up, transformed his servo into its gun alt and fired a shot at Laserbeak. Smokescreen's hit was true, blasting off a small piece of Laserbeak's right front wing. Laserbeak fell out of the air, but caught itself, diving into Smokescreen, which knocked him off his pedes, then zoomed past Ratchet.

Breakdown, Bulkhead and Smokescreen fired at Laserbeak as it raced towards Soundwave, but every single one of their shots missed Laserbeak. Then, with the clash of metal combining with metal, Laserbeak hooked into Soundwave's chestplate.

The moment Laserbeak locked into Soundwave's chest, the Decepticon's visor lit up, flashing with color for a moment then fading. Bulkhead charged Soundwave but Soundwave flicked him away easily. Smokescreen leapt for Soundwave, but the Decepticon unhooked one of his tendrils from his chestplate and latched it onto Smokescreen, crushing him to the base's floor with a burst of electricity.

Breakdown fired one of his missiles at Soundwave, which seemed to surprise him for a brief moment, but not long enough. Soundwave smacked the missile away from him with one of his broad arms, the missile crashing and exploding against the hanger door. Breakdown charged Soundwave this time, alongside Bulkhead, but Soundwave latched both of his tendrils onto Breakdown and Bulkhead respectively, sending waves of electricity coursing through Breakdown's chassis.

As the burning electricity blitzed through his core, Breakdown felt his drives shutting down then, as he collapsed to the base's floor, fell into blackness.

* * *

" _Ratchet, we require immediate transport back to base,"_ the faint sound of Arcee's voice over the base's comms pulled Breakdown back to consciousness. Groaning, Breakdown shook his helm and, slowly, pulled himself to his pedes.

" _Ratchet?"_

"Arcee?" Bulkhead groaned.

" _Bulkhead? Is everything alright? Where is Ratchet?"_ Arcee's question turned Breakdown's gaze to where Ratchet had been before Soundwave had awoken. But Ratchet wasn't there, he wasn't anywhere in the base.

"He's- He's not here," Bulkhead told Arcee, optics flickering over to Breakdown and Smokescreen. "Uh, I'll get a Ground Bridge open for you guys."

A few minutes later, after Bulkhead had opened a Ground Bridge, all of the Autobots, plus Breakdown and Agent Fowler, were all gathered in the base.

Smokescreen had picked up the piece of metal he had shot off of Laserbeak's wing and handed it over to Arcee. "Peeled some paint off Laserbeak, but if I were a better shot, Ratchet would still be here."

"Chin up, soldier," Ultra Magnus said gently, "we've combed the entire floor, for the moment that remains the only clue."

"There's nothing in the Ground Bridge log," Bulkhead pointed out, "so if Soundwave Bridged out of here, he obviously used his, not ours."

"Why take Ratchet prison, but leave you three behind?" Arcee wondered, indicating Smokescreen, Bulkhead and Breakdown respectively.

"If Megatron intends to hold our medic hostage, I find it curious he has made no demands," Ultra Magnus said.

"It would stand to reason that Ratchet must possess something the Decepticons want," Optimus added as he walked up to the group.

"But what?" Wheeljack snarled.

"Another medic?" Smokescreen suggested sarcastically.

"Of course!" Breakdown exclaimed, "There is only one reason Megatron would want him. Ratchet is the only one of us with any use to him and the Decepticons."

"Why?" Arcee asked incredulously.

"Because," Breakdown said, turning to look down at Arcee, "he is the only one who knows about the synthetic energon. Megatron must have found some use for the synthetic energon, and he knows Ratchet is the only one of us who understands it."

"That makes sense," Ultra Magnus quipped, "only a few days ago, Ratchet was attempting to complete the formula. But, what does he want with synthetic energon?"

"No idea," Breakdown said with a tight shrug of his shoulderplates.

"Maybe he needs more energon for his troops and the synthetic energon is their only choice," Smokescreen said, a bit too hopefully.

Breakdown shook his helm, "No, Megatron has more than enough of that, Smokescreen."

"Wait," Wheeljack interjected, "didn't Ratchet say something about the Decepticons possibly rebuilding the Omega Lock?"

"Yeah, he did," Bulkhead said, "What are you getting at Jackie?"

"Ugh," Breakdown groaned, "of course. They must have found a use for synthetic energon in repairing the Omega Lock. And they don't have any, so they needed Ratchet to make them synthetic energon."

"Excuse me," Agent Fowler snapped, "I hate to be the one to bring the lightning to the thunderstorm, but there is one thing we are all ignoring. If the 'Cons found Ratchet here that means they know the location of the base."

"Oh, scrap," Smokescreen swore, voicing the thoughts of every mech in the room.

* * *

"All aerial search patterns are coming up empty," Agent Fowler said as he gazed up upon the huge computer screens, showing different images, tracking for movement.

"No commlink chatter either," Arcee added.

"And no ground activity," Wheeljack said lowly, "it's a little too quiet out there."

"Since the Decepticons no longer seek Predacon bones or Earth technology, there is no activity to track," Optimus explained.

"So," Bulkhead said, "until Megatron makes a move, we're in a holding pattern."

"Not for long," Breakdown hissed.

"Ratchet didn't think this new hand was good enough," Ultra Magnus said quietly, "but I will tell you what is truly not good enough… giving up. We have no choice but to do this old school, split into teams for maximum coverage-"

Sudden, loud blaring emanated from the base, snapping Breakdown, and the others, attention to the numerous screens now flaring with life.

"We have incoming!" Agent Fowler shouted, "A whole fleet's worth!"

Outside the base Breakdown could hear the roar of jet engines, followed by a slew of guns firing.

"Air cover holding," Agent Fowler noted, "for now."

As they watched the main screen began to display an holographic image of the entire base, then zoomed in on one hanger, awash with red, indicating that the hanger was locked on by missiles.

As the beating grew louder Breakdown, and the Autobots, all grew tenser and tenser, watching the screen rapturously, as the missiles grew closer and closer then-

A huge explosion rocked the base, throwing Breakdown and the Autobots off their pedes momentarily.

After a minute or two, the base's scanners stopped blaring, growing silent as the fleet of Decepticons vanished from the sensors.

Optimus signaled for them to follow him, so all of them did as the Autobot leader walked out of the hanger and headed towards where the explosion had come from.

As they reached the still burning wreckage Smokescreen, seemingly needing to say something, said, "Well, the mess hall sure is a mess now."

"We are fortunate the Decepticons can be fooled by a simple paintjob," Ultra Magnus growled as the humans of the base began to douse the flames of the mess hall, revealing the mess hall's painted 'E' fade into its original 'F' designation.

* * *

"So, the kid clipped the business end of Laserbeak's transponder," Wheeljack said. It was the morning after the Decepticons had destroyed the base's mess hall. Since then, Agent Fowler had acquired Jack, Miko and Raf, hoping that Raf would be able to scan the piece of Laserbeak and see what information he could glean from it.

"You aren't such a bad shot after all," Arcee teased as she approached Smokescreen, who looked away from her without saying anything.

"This piece of Laserbeak is trying to connect with the warship," Raf noted.

"If it is talking with its momma, can't we triangulate its signal to the warship?" Agent Fowler asked, pointing his question to Breakdown and the Autobots.

"To a  _shielded_ warship?" Ultra Magnus growled, optics narrowed towards Agent Fowler.

"If the transponder were still attached to Laserbeak, we could follow it," Arcee added, "but its not."

"And I doubt that the small piece of Laserbeak we have could connect to the full Laserbeak so we could reactivate the virus Wheeljack and Ratchet implanted in him a while ago," Breakdown grumbled, "And I have never been able to connect to the  _Nemesis_ since I left the Decepticons, so we're fragged, pretty much."

"Wait," Raf suddenly said, "the virus? What- Oh, the virus we downloaded into Laserbeak to get the Iacon codes. Right?"

"Yeah," Breakdown replied. Raf nodded to Breakdown the began typing something into his computer, gaze turning to the piece of Laserbeak then back to his computer rapidly. After a minute or two Raf stopped his typing and turned a frustrated look to Breakdown and the Autobots.

"Nothing. This piece is too small for it to do anything beside attempting to contact the Decepticon warship."

"Well, we tried," Wheeljack commented, "since the virus won't work there is a possibility that we could give it wings and see if it can find the warship that way."

"We could use spare parts from the machine shop," Raf suggested.

"Then let's do it, for the Doc," Wheeljack said, "Come on, Raf. Let's find some parts." Raf nodded, left his computer and followed Wheeljack out of the base.

Arcee, Smokescreen, Bumblebee and Bulkhead moved off to the side, talking amongst themselves quietly. Ultra Magnus and Optimus turned to each other, but said nothing.

Breakdown suddenly charged after Wheeljack, catching up to Wheeljack and Raf with only a few quick strides.

"Hey, Wheeljack," Breakdown said as he slowed to a walk beside Wheeljack, "I can help. I know a thing or two about mechanics, and-"

Breakdown hesitated for a moment, thinking for a moment before he continued what he was saying, "Ratchet is just as much my friend as he is the Autobots'."

* * *

"Are you sure we don't need to install a GPS on our scout here?" Agent Fowler growled. Breakdown, Wheeljack and Raf had finished the device for Laserbeak's wingtip late at night and were know standing outside their hangar with the four humans, looking at the device they had made.

It was of medium build, its body a small jet engine with four small wings tapering from its chassis. Raf had made it so he could remote fly it for a small amount of time, that is until it locked onto the  _Nemesis_ ' coordinates. Breakdown and Wheeljack had attempted to install a scrambler into the device, a scrambler that would have masked and contorted Laserbeak's signal within the device, but they had not been successful.

They had made the device, which Raf oddly nicknamed 'Chip', able to be remote controlled for a brief amount of time until it locked onto the  _Nemesis_ signal.

"Too risky," Wheeljack said, "both sides are getting really good at rooting out  _that_ kind of trick."

"Besides," Smokescreen added, "we don't need a tracker-"

"We have Optimus," Raf finished as Optimus approached the group.

"But won't the 'Cons see you coming, big guy?" Miko asked worriedly.

"Not until it is too late," Bulkhead assured her.

"We will be ready for mobilization upon your command sir," Ultra Magnus said respectfully.

Optimus nodded, then turned to look at each mech and human standing around him in turn. "Remember, Autobots, this is not just a fight for Ratchet, but a fight for two planets. So much rides on what happens in this battle, so fight for Earth  _and_ for Cybertron."

"We will, Optimus, and good luck," Smokescreen said, receiving a small smile from Optimus as he did.

"Be safe," Arcee whispered, her stance tense.

"Whatever the outcome, know that Ratchet would be proud of your contribution," Optimus said, directing his words to Raf, who clenched his hands over the device's control remote nervously.

Wheeljack bent down to Raf, tilting his helm towards the device. "Come on kid, let's light this thing."

Raf nodded then clicked a button on the remote, activating the device's engine with a steady thrum. After a moment or two of checking the devices stats, Raf put full thrust into the engine and it shot into the sky. As it shot away, Optimus activated his own jet engine and blasted after the device.

Once Optimus was out of sight Breakdown turned and walked back into the Autobots' hanger, alone. Breakdown headed over to one of the base's computers, then began scouring through the databanks.

Breakdown did not notice when the Autobots walked back into the base, for he was too distracted with the computer to hear them talking amongst themselves quietly.

The sky was turning light by the time Breakdown had finished working on the computer and had moved over to the Autobots, of which only Wheeljack noted his presence.

"Prime," Agent Fowler said over the comm, "haven't heard anything from you in awhile. Everything okay up there?"

" _So far, Agent Fowler."_

"Good to hear," Agent Fowler said before terminating the comms link with a click.

"What happens when the 'Cons ID Laserbeak's signal?" Jack asked, "Raf told me that you guys tried to download an ID scrambler but you couldn't."

"We are counting on Optimus making visual contact with the warship before its radar detects Chip," Raf said.

"But if he doesn't?" Jack asked Raf, doubt heavy in his tone.

"Then we're fragged," Breakdown dead panned, "and I'm suspecting  _that_ is what will happen long before Optimus ever spots the  _Nemesis_."

"Let's hope you are wrong," Arcee growled.

"The boss will be fine," Wheeljack said to her, "he can handle a Decepticon or two."

"It's  _not_ Optimus I'm worried about," Arcee said quietly.

"We are  _all_ worried about Ratchet," Breakdown growled cooly.

"Quiet," Ultra Magnus shushed, glaring at Arcee and Breakdown respectively before turning his gaze back to the computer screen displaying Optimus and the device's signals.

At the same time, Breakdown and Arcee rolled their optics and continued to watch Optimus' progress on the computer screen. Nothing happened for awhile, and Optimus did not contact the base during that time.

"Seems like we'll be getting Ratchet off the warship sooner than later," Bulkhead said, "It has been such an easy-"

A sudden screech from the base's computer drowned out the rest of Bulkhead's words, the device's signature suddenly vanishing from the screen.

"What happened?" Agent Fowler shouted, "Where'd Chip go?"

No one answered Agent Fowler, though Ultra Magnus did open the comms to Optimus.

"Optimus? Optimus?" Ultra Magnus stepped back, turned his gaze to Breakdown and the Autobots and shook his helm. "Nothing, except for static."

"Do you think Optimus is-" Smokescreen suggested, though he cut his own words off with a shake of his helm.

" _Optimus to base, come in."_

Smokescreen and Bumblebee slapped their servos together at the sound of Optimus' voice, though they quieted down as Ultra Magnus activated the comm link.

"Commander, have you determined the warship's location?"

" _No, Ultra Magnus. The transponder has been destroyed. We are no closer to finding Ratchet than when we began."_

"No!" Arcee snarled as Optimus' comms turned off, Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead both letting out long sighs. Breakdown and Wheeljack's gazes met, the same expression of cold fury burning through their optics.

"Now what?" Smokescreen sighed, "We are never going to rescue Ratchet, are we?"

"Stop that talk, soldier," Ultra Magnus snapped, "Optimus will find a way. He always does."

"Not this time," Breakdown grumbled, "not when he is looking for the  _Nemesis_."

None of the Autobots, or the humans, combated Breakdown's statement, defeat sagging each of their frames.

"It's over," Arcee finally said, "we  _lost_." Arcee whipped on the heel of her pede and walked away from the group, arms crossed over her chestplate protectively. Smokescreen and Bumblebee followed after her, helms hanging. Bulkhead glanced between them and Ultra Magnus, then shuffled after Arcee

Ultra Magnus gritted his denta but stayed by the computer. Breakdown and Wheeljack stayed put, optics locked on Optimus' signature on the screen.

Thirty Earth minutes passed like this, empty and quiet. Breakdown had no idea why he continued to watch the computer screen as he had already accepted they were never going to find the  _Nemesis_.

 _It's impossible_.

A long sigh from Wheeljack beside him drew Breakdown's gaze to the smaller Autobot. Wheeljack's helm was hanging and, only because the base was so quiet did Breakdown hear what Wheeljack said.

"Primus, we need Ratchet. Let us find-"

 _Autobot base, do you read!"_ The sound of Ratchet's voice coming through the comms snapped Breakdown's attention to the computer screen, relief, hope and joy flooding his spark. " _This is Ratchet, can anyone hear me?"_

" _Loud and clear, old friend!"_ Optimus boomed joyously.

" _Listen to me,_ " Ratchet said over the joyful shouts of the Autobots and humans in the base, " _Megatron has managed to rebuild the Omega Lock_ aboard  _his warship. I've deactivated the Decepticon shielding system, you should be able to get a fix on my coordinates-"_

Ratchet's voice cut off as a distant echo of blasts came from the comms.

" _Optimus you must hurry. Megatron is preparing to Cyberform Earth, as we speak!"_

" _Ratchet?"_ Optimus queried, his voice growing cold once more, " _Autobots. Lock onto those coordinates and prepare to storm the warship!"_

"You heard our leader!" Ultra Magnus commanded, "We're going in and going in heavy. Gear up!"

Breakdown's engine snarled as he, Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Smokescreen, Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus all prepped the weapons they had gotten all those weeks ago from the  _Iron Will._

"Initiating Ground Bridge," Raf informed as a Ground Bridge opened up within the base.

" _Members of Team Prime, Autobot and human,"_ Optimus said as Breakdown and the Autobots walked towards the Ground Bridge, " _it has been my honor to lead you. On this day, the fate of two worlds hang in the balance and the battle to come may very well come to be our last. But for Earth, for Cybertron, for our comrade Ratchet, we must take the Decepticon warship!"_

* * *

The Ground Bridge opened up on the  _Nemesis_ ' flight deck. Breakdown and the Autobots leapt from the Ground Bridge, pedes hitting the metal decking with varied thuds. Breakdown straightened up beside his new team, engine snarling as Ultra Magnus ordered the seven of them to charge.

To charge to war.


	28. Chapter 28

Chaos.

That was what happened a mere sliver of a second after the Autobots' Ground Bridge closed. Hot, livid energy blasts from both Vehicon and Insecticon weapons scorched past Breakdown and the others.

Breakdown and the Autobots -  _team, you idiot!_ \- returned fire, at times Breakdown blocked a blast aimed for Bumblebee, Arcee and Smokescreen with his arms as they covered fire for him.

"There's," Arcee ducked a blast, "more of Megatron's forces than we planned for, Magnus! What do we do?"

"We must-" Ultra Magnus let out a shriek of pain as a remarkably accurate blast from an Eradicon's gun hit the Second-in-Command's helm. Ultra Magnus stumbled backwards blindly, getting uncomfortably close to the end of the  _Nemesis_ 's flight deck.

"MAGNUS!" Arcee screamed, leaping for Ultra Magnus, but Breakdown had already moved, servo clamping onto Ultra Magnus's arm just before his pedes slipped over the edge.

Breakdown steadied Ultra Magnus firmly on the flight deck, optic scanning over his helm swiftly. "You'll be okay, Ultra Magnus," he said as Ultra Magnus slowly lowered his undamaged servo from his helm. There was extensive damage to the Autobot's helm but neither of his optics had been damaged, luckily.

Ultra Magnus nodded to Breakdown quickly then transformed his undamaged servo to its gun alt and began firing at the swarm of Insecticons, Vehicons and Eradicons bore down on them from everywhere.

Breakdown did the same as Ultra Magnus, though he aimed his gatling cannon specifically at the Insecticons. He didn't harbor old feelings for  _them_ , unlike he did with the Vehicons on the  _Nemesis_.

As Breakdown took down another Insecticon - its flaming body falling from the sky rapidly - the Ratchet's voice crackled over the comms.

" _The Omega Lock's control station is located on the lower deck!"_ Ratchet said over the comms, " _I am making my way there now."_

" _Got it, Ratchet. Ultra Magnus and the others are on their ways towards you,"_ Optimus responded.

Beside Breakdown, Wheeljack snapped out his energon whip and, with a savage snap uncoiled the bright blue weapon on a diving swarm of Insecticons. One Insecticon dodged the electro-whip but the rest were not as quick, their frames exploding on impact with the whip.

Yet, even with Breakdown, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Ultra Magnus, Smokescreen, Bumblebee, and Arcee taking down scores of Megatron's army, the swarms of soldiers never seemed to end.

"Magnus!" Wheeljack shouted, "We need to get off the flight deck! We're too exposed here and we aren't making a dent in their numbers!"

"They have blocked the hangar entrance," Ultra Magnus snarled over the gunfire, "and we aren't getting through that, so hold your ground Autobots!"

Breakdown's gaze snapped to the hangar bay entrance of the  _Nemesis_  quickly, noting the line of Insecticons and Vehicons protecting it. It took a few moments for Breakdown to recognize the tank-alt Vehicon commanding those defending the hangar bay. But when he did, a knowing, smug smile curved over his faceplate.

_Perfect. It's Mudguard._

Returning his attention to the Autobots and the ensuing battle, and to shooting down more Insecticons, Breakdown wheeled on Ultra Magnus.

"Ultra Magnus, I know the Vehicon commanding the troops blocking the hangar. If we all charge on the group, he'll flee. He's only comfortable in long-distance battles,  _not_ close combat. We charge him, he flees and the rest of the Vehicons will follow his lead. I don't know about the Insecticons under his command but doing that will give us an easier chance to get into the hanger."

Ultra Magnus looked twice at Breakdown, mouth hanging open for a moment before he snapped a sharp nod towards Breakdown. Wheeling on the Autobots still firing at the swarm of soldiers, Ultra Magnus shouted, "Autobots! Follow me!"

Ultra Magnus stored his gun on his back then snapped into his alt mode, Breakdown and the others following suit as Ultra Magnus revved his engine and charged Mudguard and his troops. As Breakdown and his team neared Mudguard and his troops, just as Breakdown predicted, Mudguard began to fidget as they grew closer.

Mudguard hesitated for only a moment then dove aside, just missing being rammed by Ultra Magnus. The Vehicons of Mudguard's troop followed their leader, leaving the Insecticons to be blasted apart by Breakdown and the Autobots. As the team raced into the hanger, dodging blasts from Megatron's soldiers, the hangar bay doors slammed shut.

Ultra Magnus snapped out of his alt mode first, followed closely by the rest of the team. "Good call back there, Breakdown," Ultra Magnus said, which Breakdown responded to with a light shrug.

"You're welcome," Breakdown said happily, though he turned serious only a moment later.

"Now what?" Arcee muttered, optics wheeling around the hangar.

"We split up," Ultra Magnus replied, "I will lead the Wreckers to the warships' bridge. Arcee, Smokescreen and Bumblebee, you will find the Omega Lock."

"What do we do if we can't capture the Omega Lock?" Arcee asked softly.

" _I do not intend to squander the chance to restore Cybertron. Not this time. I understand now the importance of second chances,"_ Optimus replied over the comms.

Arcee nodded and bolted off down one of the  _Nemesis_ 's hallways. Smokescreen and Bumblebee glanced at Ultra Magnus then ran after Arcee. Ultra Magnus turned to Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead, then signaled them to follow after him as he headed down a different hallway.

Breakdown began to follow Ultra Magnus for a moment, then suddenly drew to a stop with a growl of his engine. Ultra Magnus stopped ahead, turning to shoot Breakdown a confused look.

"Breakdown? What's wrong?" Bulkhead asked slowly, optics turning to Wheeljack who shrugged his shoulderplates in response.

"Go down the hallway, take the second right and then the  _third_ left. That's how you will get to the  _Nemesis_ 's bridge-"

"What? Why are you telling us this?" Wheeljack growled, optics snapping around the  _Nemesis_ nervously.

"I'm not going with you guys. Arcee and the others have no clue how to get down to the Omega Lock. I  _know_ this warship a lot better than any of them," Breakdown explained, glancing over to Ultra Magnus briefly.

Ultra Magnus didn't say anything for a bit, them nodded, "Fine. Go after them. We'll head to the bridge. Wheeljack, Bulkhead, follow me!"

"Watch out for Soundwave," Breakdown warned before charging down the hallway Arcee, Bumblebee and Smokescreen had gone down.

It didn't take long for Breakdown to catch up to Arcee and the others, though when he did the first thing he noticed was them standing art an intersection in the hallway and arguing. None of them noticed Breakdown as he walked up behind them, Arcee and Bumblebee arguing while Smokescreen was oddly silent.

"I  _know_ that we're lost, Bumblebee!" Arcee growled, electing a string of indignant beeps from him. Arcee snorted, "We don't have time to check both ways and we are  _not_ splitting up!"

"Go left," Breakdown growled, optic ridge raising as the three whipped around at the sound of his voice, all with matching expressions of shock.

"Breakdown? What- Are the others okay?" Arcee asked him the moment she recovered from her shock, optics narrowing.

"They are fine, Arcee," Breakdown said smoothly, "but I came to help you guys find the Omega Lock. And, seeing as you are already lost, you so obviously need my help navigating around the  _Nemesis_."

"Oh," Arcee breathed, her tense stance deflating, "well, that is good. Lead the way then, Breakdown."

Arcee moved aside so Breakdown could take point, which he did warily, optic scanning the dark hallways. Confirming their path was clear, Breakdown signaled Arcee, Bumblebee and Smokescreen to follow him as he headed down the left hallway.

They headed down the hallway uninterrupted for a minute or two when Smokescreen suddenly said, "You guys go on ahead, I've got something I need to do."

"What?" Arcee gasped, as Bumblebee beeped questioningly, "You can't just walk off, we need you!"

"I have to do this, Arcee," Smokescreen said as he activated the Phase Shifter - a device that allowed the user to phase through solid objects - clamped over his arm. Smokescreen hesitated, glancing between Breakdown, Arcee and Bumblebee momentarily, before running through the wall of the  _Nemesis_.

"Crazy kid," Arcee muttered as Breakdown turned around and continued to head down the hallway.

Arcee and Bumblebee caught up to Breakdown just as he reached another intersection of hallways. Breakdown signaled for the to be quiet as he pressed up against the wall of the  _Nemesis_ and peed into the intersecting hallway.

Five Insecticons were headed their way, the only sound coming from them being the heavy clash of their pedes against the  _Nemesis_ 's plating.

Breakdown ducked back and turned to Arcee, then quietly said, "There are five Insecticons headed our way from that hallway - the hallway we need to go down. If you and Bumblebee can distract them long enough, I can take them out with one of my missiles."

"Got it," Arcee whispered as she turned and signaled Bumblebee to follow her, the two smaller Autobots moving around Breakdown stealthily. Arcee and Bumblebee glanced towards each other then dove out into the Insecticons' view, guns blazing.

The Insecticons took a few moments to react but, once they did return fire towards Arcee and Bumblebee, Breakdown angled around the wall, targeting his shoulder cannon on the middle Insecticon. The moment Breakdown's targeting system locked onto the Insecticon, he activates his missile setting and fired.

The missile hit the middle Insecticon, exploding almost on impact with the Insecticons chassis, the explosion consuming another Insecticon while shrapnel from the first Insecticon ripped into its companions. The lead Insecticon let put a howl of pain as it to collapse, clawing desperately at the sharp metal digging into its chassis. The fourth Insecticon twitched a few times, limbs spasming sporadically for a second or two before it grew entirely still. The last Insecticon, who had been furthest from the blast, leapt for Arcee in its alt form but the combined force of her's, Breakdown's and Bumblebee's guns took it down.

"Nice shot," Arcee said as she shot the still living lead Insecticon in the helm, promptly offlining it.

"Thanks," Breakdown said, shrugging nonchalantly at Arcee's compliment. "Now come on, we need to get to the Omega Lock."

Breakdown snapped into his alt mode and raced down the hallway, Arcee and Bumblebee flanking him as they raced down the hallway.

"Any idea how much further to the lower deck?" Arcee asked as she ranged up alongside Breakdown, engine thrumming with anticipation.

"Not much farther," Breakdown replied as the three of them hooked a sharp right down another hallway.

As they raced down the hallway, Breakdown began to pick up the fast approaching sound of Insecticons, flying towards him, Arcee and Bumblebee from behind them.

Arcee seemed to pick up the noise too as she, nearly at the same time as Breakdown, slowed and transformed out of her alt mode,turning to face the oncoming Insecticons. As Breakdown and Arcee activated their weapons, Bumblebee ran up to Breakdown's side and transformed his servos to their gun alt.

The Insecticons had not reached them yet - though the buzz of their wings was near deafening now - when the sharp whir of powering  _behind_ Breakdown snapped his attention behind him.

"Ah, scrap," Breakdown swore as he looked down the combined barrels of ten silver Eradicons.

The buzz of the Insecticons faded as they landed behind Breakdown, turning his attention to the five Insecticons approaching him and the two Autobots. Breakdown's attention was snapped back to the Eradicons when one of them shoved their gun under his chin, drawing a snarl from his engine.

Next to him, Arcee and Bumblebee were subdued by two of the Insecticons while another wrapped its servos around Breakdown's shoulderplates, digging its sharp talons into his connecting joints with a warning snarl.

"Commander Starscream will be pleased with our acquisition," the Eradicon with its gun pressed under Breakdown's chin snarled. "Two Autobots and Breakdown."

"Starscream won't be getting anything," Arcee snarled then began to thrash under the Insecticon holding her grasp. Arcee's thrashing loosened one of her arms from the Insecticon's grasp, but before she could act the Insecticon smashed her to the hull of the  _Nemesis_.

Arcee let out a cry of pain as the Insecticon bored its full weight upon her, her optics burning with hatred for the Insecticon. Breakdown noticed Bumblebee starting to attempt to shove the Insecticon off him, but a warning snarl from Breakdown's engine stopped the yellow scout.

Bumblebee looked up at Breakdown quickly, then back to the Eradicons and Insecticons surrounded them.

"You," an Eradicon growled, pointing to the Insecticon holding Arcee down, "pick the Autobot up. We're taking these scum to Starscream."

The Insecticon growled unhappily as it picked Arcee up, shoving her forcefully forward as the Insecticons holding Breakdown and Bumblebee shoved them forward. Bumblebee was trilling nervously as they were forced down the hallway once more, the scout's door kibble pressing to his back strut.

"It's going to be fine," Breakdown growled to the scout quietly.

"No talking!" Breakdown's Insecticon snarled, claws loosening from his connecting joints as it gave Breakdown a powerful shove. Breakdown stumbled forward but that was exactly what he wanted.

Snapping his servos into their hammer alts, Breakdown wheeled around and smashed his servos against the Insecticons chestplate. The Insecticon stumbled back, crashing into two Eradicons behind it as Breakdown rammed into the Insecticon holding Bumblebee. Bumblebee whipped away from the Insecticon a it slammed into the wall beside Bumblebee, blasting the Insecticon holding Arcee down.

Breakdown lunged for the remaining two Insecticons, both of whom leapt and smashed into him at the same time. Breakdown let out a snarl of rage as he pushed back against the two Insecticons, shoulderplates straining under the combined power of the Insecticons. One of the Insecticons slashed the right side Breakdown's faceplate, tearing his optic patch from his faceplate.

Enraged, Breakdown blindly fired at the Insecticons, stumbling back as the pressure from the Insecticons faded. Distantly Breakdown could hear Arcee and Bumblebee fighting the Eradicons behind him, followed by dying shrieks of pain from one of the Insecticons he had been fighting.

Helm snapping upwards, Breakdown lunged for the remaining Insecticon - who was clawing at its helm, which had shards of metal sticking out of it - barreling into the large creature relentlessly. Breakdown grabbed the Insecticon by its helm and flung it out to the ground. The Insecticon thrashed at him, claws screeching over his chassis as, without mercy, Breakdown crushed its helm under one hammer alt.

For a few moments the Insecticon twitched, growing still just as the sound of Arcee and Bumblebee guns stopped. Breakdown slowly turned his gaze to the Autobots behind him, watching as Arcee and Bumblebee finished checking each one of the dead Decepticons.

Moving up to both of them, Breakdown said, "You two okay?"

Arcee looked up at Breakdown, nodded then suddenly jolted back. "What happened to your-" Arcee pointed to the right side of Breakdown's faceplate, drawing a grumble from him.

"It's nothing Arcee," Breakdown said quietly, surprised by the two-wheeler's concern, "but we need to get moving."

Arcee opened her mouth but said nothing as the three of them transformed into their alt modes and continued down the hallway. They drove in silence, but for their engines, finally coming to a halt in front of a large door.

"This should be it," Breakdown informed as he snapped out of his alt mode and pressed the door's control panel. Slowly the door slid open, revealing a room filled with- Nothing?!

"What?" Breakdown hissed, peering inside the empty room. Quickly he turned to Arcee and Bumblebee, both of whom looked confused when they peered into the empty room. "This is the way to the lower deck. It must be… It has to-"

"Well, well, seems you found the wrong door, Breakdown."

The high voice of Starscream sent a rigid blast of nerves stiffening through Breakdown's chassis. Slowly, he turned around, Arcee and Bumblebee doing the same, to see Starscream standing before them, and fleet of Eradicons and Insecticons behind him.

"Starscream," Arcee hissed, servos switching to their gun alt as she drew herself into a ready stance.

Starscream quirked one optic ridge, optics glinting with an unreadable expression as he turned his gaze to Breakdown. "You have done well, Breakdown. The Decepticon cause thanks you."

Utterly confused, Breakdown snapped his gaze to Arcee and Bumblebee who looked sands stumped as he felt. "What are you getting at, Starscream?"

Starscream gasped with mock surprise, optics turning to Arcee as he gave the subtlest of smiles. "Why, you know what I mean, Breakdown. We wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

"What?" Breakdown gasped, looking down at Arcee and Bumblebee to see their expressions had changed to guarded bewilderment.

Arcee turned to Starscream and, with her voice measured, said, "Explain yourself, Starscream.  _Now_."

Starscream gasped, servo raising to his mouth as he glanced between Arcee and Breakdown once more. "Breakdown never told you?"

"Never told us what?" Arcee growled, rage blistering off her in waves.

Starscream shot Breakdown a smug look then turned back to Arcee, "Never told you that he's been a double agent the whole time-"

"WHAT?!" Breakdown roared, mouth hanging open speechlessly.  _What is Starscream talking about?_

"That wouldn't make any sense, Starscream," Arcee defended, gaze turning to Breakdown slowly, "Right?"

"It doesn't!" Breakdown snarled, "I'm loyal to the Autobots-"

"No you aren't," Starscream hissed, cutting off the rest of what Breakdown was going to say.

Bumblebee beeped rapidly and shuffled away from breakdown ever so slightly. Arcee kept switching her gaze between Breakdown and Starscream, optics unreadable.

Starscream seemed to revel in the silence of the Autobots as the wings on his back fluttered pridefully as he continued to talk, "Thanks to Breakdown, we were able to locate your original base, Arcee. He helped me acquire the Omega Keys from your base  _and_ he helped Soundwave escape."

"How can I believe you, Starscream?" Arcee asked, though Breakdown could tell she seemed less convinced about what she was saying then before.

"Because of what we have," Starscream said, signaling one Eradicon forward. The Eradicon had a datapad in its servos which it handed to Starscream, then hurriedly backed away. Starscream activated the datapad and, after a few moments, turned the datapad so Breakdown, Arcee and Bumblebee could see the video playing on the datapad.

The video opened to show Knock Out in his alt mode driving down a road, merging into traffic in a desert town.

 _That's Jasper… Oh, SCRAP_ , Breakdown realized as, right there on the datapad's screen, came Breakdown in his alt mode. Breakdown watched as he and Knock Out pulled off the road and began to talk, though no sound came from the datapad.

Arcee gave Breakdown a stunned look, as Starscream shut off the video on the datapad.

"You were using us the whole time?" Arcee hissed, shooting Breakdown an accusatorial look that burned to the core of his spark.

"No," Breakdown urged, "I haven't done anything against you guys!"

"Then why does Starscream have surveillance video of you and Knock Out being chummy pals?" Arcee snarled, her entire chassis shuddering with rage as Breakdown looked down at her hopelessly.

"I ran across him  _once_ , Arcee! It wasn't anything important that we talked about, honestly!"

"And how do I know you aren't  _still_ lying?" Arcee screamed, startling Breakdown with her outburst. Bumblebee was watching Arcee and Breakdown, not making a sound but his optics betrayed the hurt and disbelief he was feeling.

"You don't Arcee. You never trusted me before, I know that," Breakdown said quietly, looking away from Arcee as she continued to glare at him.

"And I was wrong to begin trusting you," Arcee finished, whirling on Starscream, who was watching them gleefully.

"Well, now that is over," Starscream said, "kill the Autobots!" At his command the Eradicons and Insecticons lunged for Arcee and Bumblebee, crushing the two Autobots underneath a flurry of metal. Breakdown couldn't move for horror as he watched Arcee and Bumblebee fight the Decepticons, but when he heard Starscream walk up beside him he whipped his helm around to the Decepticon commander.

"Oh, how easily allies turn on you," Starscream hissed, optics narrowing dangerously. Breakdown's servos clenched as Starscream began to laugh as Arcee and Bumblebee fell under the combined power of the Eradicons and Insecticons.

Before Breakdown even realized what he was doing, he lunged for Starscream, smashing Starscream against the  _Nemesis_ 's wall. Starscream tried to pry Breakdown's servos from his neck, a strangled gasp escaping from his throat as he clawed at Breakdown's arm.

"Let… me… go," Starscream wheezed, but Breakdown only tightened his grip on the Seeker's neck plates.

" _No_ ," Breakdown hissed as he activated his shoulder cannon, sights locking onto Starscream's helm. Starscream's optics widened as Breakdown's cannon began to thrum to life, then suddenly shifted to the side. Breakdown turned his helm to see what had drawn Starscream's attention away to see huge, black claws slashing towards his helm only in time to throw his arm up to block the attack.

When the Insecticon's claws tore through his arm, Breakdown dropped Starscream, the gray Seeker hitting the ground with a solid thunk. Breakdown was rammed by the Insecticon into the wall, its talons shredding into his chassis as two smaller arms snapped out from its chassis and speared into Breakdown's servos. Breakdown activated his shoulder cannon, his only chance to get the Insecticon off him, but the Insecticon noticed it and, with a savage thrust of its servos, tore Breakdown's weapon from his shoulderplate.

Breakdown let out a howl of pain as the Insecticon ripped its sharp servos from Breakdown's own, allowing Breakdown to collapse to the flooring of the  _Nemesis_. Looking up, Breakdown watched as the Insecticon snapped its servos and plunged its claws towards his sparkchamber

Something hit into the Insecticon, throwing the Insecticon all the way down the hallway from the force of whatever had hit it. Breakdown shook his helm and slowly, painfully, scrambled to his pedes as a sharp staccato of gunfire blazed right beside him. Flinching sideways, Breakdown crashed into an Eradicon about to shot Bumblebee in the helm, sending the Eradicon reeling away from the scout.

Something, or someone, steadied Breakdown, which drew his attention to the helicopter-alt Vehicon with its servos clasped over his arms.

"Pillar?" He gasped, receiving a confirming nod from the Vehicon before she wheeled on another Eradicon and began to fight it. Breakdown turned to look around, surprise stiffening through his backstrut as Dreadwing -  _Dreadwing_ \- landed in front of him, sword slashing through two Insecticons with remarkable ease.

A gray blur was the only indication Breakdown saw of Starscream fleeing from the hallway, jet engine leaving behind a wash of heat. Close to Breakdown, Arcee and Bumblebee slowly walked up to Dreadwing, who had just stashed his sword on his back.

"Dreadwing?" Arcee gasped, optics snapping from Breakdown, Dreadwing, Pillar, Yosemite and Mortar - who had just landed behind Dreadwing - unashamedly staring at them with utter shock. "You… What in the name of Primus is going on here?"

Dreadwing looked down at Arcee, red optics hiding all emotion from her as he blinked slowly.

"But, you are a Decepticon, right?" Arcee asked, servo scratching at her helm.

"No, he isn't," Pillar snapped from behind Dreadwing, drawing Arcee's even more bewildered gaze to the helicopter as she walked up to the two-wheeler, "and neither are my buddies over here. We left quite a few months ago and have been on the fly since then."

"How did you find the warship?" Breakdown asked, looking towards Dreadwing, who was silent as usual.

Dreadwing turned to Breakdown and, measuredly, said, "Starscream never got around to destroying the  _Harbinger_. We were resting there when we heard something about an attack on the  _Nemesis_ over the  _Harbinger_ 's comms. I figured it must have been the Autobots attacking the  _Nemesis_  and, Breakdown, I could not live knowing that I watched Megatron do whatever he wants to do to Cybertron or this planet, so we Bridged here."

"Well, thanks, Dreadwing. That's two times I owe you now," Breakdown laughed, eliciting Dreadwing to roll his optics lightly.

"Uh," Arcee interrupted, turning Breakdown and Dreadwing's gazes down to her, "so you aren't a Decepticon anymore, Dreadwing? Wait… ah, scrap. You aren't working for the Decepticons are you Breakdown?"

Before Breakdown could answer Yosemite let out a raucous burst of laughter, earning an affronted look from Arcee. "Please, Autobot, you think Breakdown - the dude who  _killed_ Razortalon, Megatron's high and mighty experiments - would be a Decepticon still? You Autobots really  _are_ dim."

Arcee looked about to retort to Yosemite's last comment but bumblebee interrupted her as he rushed up to Breakdown and let out a long string of beeps and trills. Breakdown rolled his optic and sighed, not even going to waste his time to tell Bumblebee once again that he didn't understand the Autobot binary that Bumblebee used on a daily basis. But Arcee understood the scout fine as she cast a sheepish glance over to Breakdown.

"Well, if you killed Razortalon than you obviously aren't what Starscream was saying you were. I'm sorry for believing Starscream - even for just a moment - over you," Arcee apologized.

Breakdown shook his helm and turned to Dreadwing, knowing he needed to fill the former Decepticon in on what was going on. After explaining everything, Dreadwing seemed to ponder to himself for a moment then suddenly signaled for Breakdown and the others to follow him. The seven Cybertronians charged down the hallway, heading towards the Omega Lock.

Dreadwing led the group along a set of dark hallways, blasting any foolish Insecticon that got in their way with his cannon. As they were reaching the Omega Lock's control room, Smokescreen, from one of the  _Nemesis_ 's walls appeared, Star Saber cradled over his shoulderplate.

Smokescreen's optics widened as they fell on Dreadwing and the three Vehicons, mouth dropping open as Arcee and Bumblebee walked out from behind the towering Seeker.

"What the frag? Dreadwing?" Smokescreen wheezed, "Arcee? Breakdown? What is going on here?"

"Dreadwing saved us, he's helping us," Arcee hurriedly explained, "Where did you get the Star Saber?"

"In the vaults," Smokescreen said, growing serious the second Arcee mentioned the Star Saber. "I figured Optimus would need it, that's why I left you three."

"That's fine," Arcee muttered, "but we need to get to the Omega Lock, it is just down the hallway."

Smokescreen nodded and, as Dreadwing led the group towards the Omega Lock, fell in beside Breakdown, servos still clutching onto the Star Saber. Suddenly the entirety of the  _Nemesis_ jolted to the side, throwing Breakdown and the others off their pedal momentarily, though they all regained their position and ran into the Omega Lock's control room.

The control room was huge, with huge vials of strange, cool blue liquid in each one of them. Smokescreen hurtled ahead with the Star Saber, skidding to a halt at the rim of the Omega Lock's control room floor. To the far right of Smokescreen, Shockwave and Ratchet were fighting, that is until Shockwave smashed Ratchet into one of the vials containing the Omega Lock's liquid and aimed his cannon towards Smokescreen.

Smokescreen had not noticed this as he was preparing to throw the Star Saber to Optimus fighting below on the Omega Lock itself.

"Smokescreen watch out!" Ratchet yelled just as Shockwave's cannon let loose a blast of energy which hit Smokescreen straight in the chestplate. The blast sent Smokescreen crashing into one of the vials behind him, Star Saber falling to the ground with a sharp ring. Breakdown ran to Smokescreen, checking on the young Autobot swiftly as Arcee ran up to give cover. Back at the control room's entrance, Bumblebee and Dreadwing were fighting Shockwave and Starscream, who had just flown in from below the Omega Lock.

Arcee's helm suddenly snapped to the Star Saber, and when her's did so too did every other mechs' - except for Breakdown, who was quickly patching up Smokescreen's injury, though he did watch what happened. En masse, Arcee, Bumblebee, Starscream and his Eradicons and Shockwave all charged towards the Star Saber.

Arcee leapt and bounced off of one of Starscream's Eradicons, servos clasping over its helm as, with a powerful flick, she threw the Eradicon onto Starscream. The two gray Decepticons floundered on the ground as Arcee and Bumblebee scrambled over their chassis', Bumblebee having to roll and dodge the blasts from Shockwave's cannon as they neared the Star Saber. The moment Bumblebee got to the Star Saber he skidded across the ground, snatching up the Star Saber at the same time as he leapt up and kicked Shockwave in his optic. Shockwave hit the ground and Bumblebee, and the Star Saber, crashed to the floor just behind the Decepticon tank.

Whirling on his pedes, Bumblebee leapt down the Omega Lock's pillars with one servo firmly locked around the Star Saber. As Bumblebee was doing so Breakdown pulled Smokescreen to his pedes, the blue mech nodding thanks as the two of them ran up to the edge of the control room's flooring and looked down to where Optimus and Megatron were fighting.

"Optimus! You must use the Saber to destroy the Omega Lock!" Breakdown heard Ratchet yell over the control room's comms, "It is the only way to save Earth!"

On the rung of the Omega Lock, Optimus whipped away from Megatron, gaze snapping to where Bumblebee was scaling down the Omega Lock's pillar. Megatron did the same but he reacted faster, shoving Optimus to the side just as Bumblebee leapt off the pillar towards Optimus.

Megatron raised his servo with the cannon towards Bumblebee and fired off three burst of energy right at Bumblebee, Optimus slamming into the Decepticon just in time to make Megatron's fourth shot miss.

The three bursts of energy hit Bumblebee in the chestplate, one after the other, tearing his chassis into a mix of torn metal and flames. The Star Saber fell from Bumblebee's servo as he fell down into the Omega Lock's liquid pool, the liquid pooling over his battered chassis.

"No!" Smokescreen cried out, his attempt to lunge forwards stopped by Breakdown grabbing the impulsive mech's arm and yanking him away from the edge of the control room's floor. "Let me go! BUMBLEBEE!"

Smokescreen fought against Breakdown as they watched Optimus pummel Megatron again and again, throwing the Decepticon leader against one of the Omega Lock's pillars with one solid punch. Megatron fell to the Omega Lock's floor, Optimus snapping his left servo into its gun alt as he walked up behind Megatron, aiming it for Megatron-

Megatron suddenly flipped around, the Dark Star Saber in his servo, and let out a powerful burst of purple energy from the Saber that hit Optimus and flung him off the Omega Lock's flooring. The moment Optimus vanished, Smokescreen only fought harder against Breakdown, but Breakdown did not let the young mech go, watching as Megatron walked up to the rim of the Omega Lock.

Megatron rose the Dark Star Saber over his helm to strike Optimus down for one last time when somebody suddenly yelled, "MEGATRON!"

Megatron, and every other mech near the Omega Lock looked down, just in time to see Bumblebee impale Megatron through the sparkchamber with Optimus' Star Saber.

"Bumblebee?" Smokescreen breathed, his thrashing subsiding for stiffened shock as he looked down upon the Autobot scout.

Breakdown only raised an optic ridge, saying nothing as Megatron fell to his knees, Dark Star Saber falling from his servo and beyond the Omega Lock and towards Earth. Slowly, Breakdown released his hold on Smokescreen, both of them just watching as Megatron hooked his servos over the Star Saber's blade, optics flickering.

"Lord Megatron, no!" Starscream cried out just as Megatron's spark chamber flickered once more and slowly, the Decepticon leader slipped from the Star Saber's blade and fell from the Omega Lock, falling towards Earth just like his own Star Saber.

"I will avenge you master!" Starscream shouted, anger blazing through his voice, but Shockwave stopped him.

"Starscream, do not be a fool!" Shockwave snarled before he picked up Starscream and fled with the rest of the Eradicons.

"Curse you and your logic!" was the last thing Breakdown heard Starscream say as the Decepticons fled from the scene of their master's death.

"Wow," Smokescreen whispered, looking up towards Breakdown as Optimus and Bumblebee began making their way up one of the Omega Lock's pillars, "Did we just defeat the Decepticons?"

Breakdown took a few moments to respond but, finally looking down to the young Autobot, said, "Yes. Megatron is dead."

Smokescreen smiled briefly then ran up to where Optimus and Bumblebee were, Breakdown didn't follow, his thoughts elsewhere, though he kept his gaze on the Autobots as they greeted Bumblebee and Optimus.

"Optimus Prime to all units, Megatron is no more. Wreckers, a job well done securing the Bridge," Optimus said, his voice crackling over Breakdown's comms.

" _It wasn't us sir, the credit belongs to the humans,"_ Ultra Magnus replied, followed by a distant 'hu-yah' from Miko.

Breakdown rolled his optic but couldn't help let a smile crack over his faceplate as he walked over to Arcee, Smokescreen and Bumblebee.  _The war is over._

"The Omega Lock is under our control," Ratchet said, "I propose we put it to good use."

 _That_ drew Breakdown's attention away from his thoughts, as he realized what Ratchet meant.  _We're going home._

"I agree, old friend," Optimus said beside Ratchet, "Ultra Magnus, set course for Cybertron."

Smokescreen leapt up with a gleeful shout as the  _Nemesis_ began to move, turning towards a Space Bridge that opened up in the sky only moments later. The  _Nemesis_ flew through the Space Bridge which opened up to Cybertron, the immense planet growing nearer as Ultra Magnus piloted the  _Nemesis_ towards it.

Arcee, Smokescreen and Bumblebee headed to the  _Nemesis_ 's bridge as the ship closed distance on the planet, engines seeming to thrum with anticipation.

But Breakdown stayed for a bit, turning to Dreadwing, Yosemite, Pillar and Mortar with a respectful nod.

"Thank you for helping, Dreadwing," Breakdown said, watching as dreadwing, after nodding to him, transformed into his alt mode and dove away from the  _Nemesis_ through the open Omega Lock control room floor.

Sighing, Breakdown turned and followed after Arcee, Smokescreen and Bumblebee.

As they approached Cybertron, the warship began to slow, its nose pointing towards the Well of Allsparks, which Ratchet and Optimus had agreed they would use what little cybermatter they had to revive.

"Commander, we are here. At the Well of Allsparks," Wheeljack said as the ship slowed to a halt over the vast chasm that led down to the core of the planet.

The  _Nemesis_ 's main screen displayed an image of the Omega Lock as it began to pulse and glow, and then shot a huge beam of the Omega Lock's cybermatter into the Well. The cybermatter began to work moments later, the Well slowly spreading the blue cybermatter over the entirety of Cybertron.

"Ah, such  _luster_ ," Knock Out said from behind Breakdown and the Autobots, snapping Breakdown's gaze away from Cybertron to stare at the Decepticon medic standing there with his arms crossed over his chestplate. No one said a thing, which Knock Out seemed to notice for he said, "What? I'm joining the winning team-"

Before Knock Out could say anything more Miko, in the Apex Armor, knocked him out with a single punch, then turned and smiled smugly.

* * *

They had landed the  _Nemesis_ on Cybertron once Ratchet was certain the cybermatter was working and all of them were now gathered at the bridge, staring out at their  _living_ planet. The sun was peeking out from beyond some of the ruined high rises, when a huge shadow flashed by the  _Nemesis_ 's screens, revealing the Predacon flying away into the obscuring sunlight.

"Come on," Optimus said behind the gathered Cybertronians, "we should head back to Earth. Jack, Miko and Raf need to go home and we need to say goodbye."

"Yes, sir," Ultra Magnus said as he activated a Space Bridge within the  _Nemesis_.

* * *

"Though our home world is one again capable of supporting life, we have much rebuilding to do," Optimus said, back at the Autobots' military base on Earth, "Alas, we will miss our home away from home and the family we have made here."

Breakdown contained the derisive snort bordering on escaping from his vents, not wanting the Autobots to realize  _his_ opinion on the matter of leaving Earth. He was glad. Earth wasn't their home, never could be, and Breakdown had never been able to grow to like it or its inhabitants. Not even the ones with the Autobots.

"What happens if the 'Cons come back and harass Earth?" Raf asked Optimus, though it wasn't Optimus who answered him but Bumblebee.

"Raf, if you ever need me - need us - for any reason we are only a Space Bridge away."

"Besides," Agent Fowler added, "with you, Jack and Miko continuing to serve Unit E - in a semi-official capacity-"

"Whoa! We are agents?" Miko shrieked joyfully.

"Consultants," Jack's mother added, casting a glance towards Agent Fowler before continuing, "till you are of age."

"I trust that Unit E doesn't have any rules forbidding the enlistment of rusty old Autobot consultants," Ratchet suddenly said, snapping Breakdown's gaze towards the medic.

"Ratchet? You of all-"

"Yep, yep, yep, I know where I am needed, Arcee," Ratchet interjected, gaze turning away from Breakdown and the Autobots.

Breakdown looked over at Wheeljack standing beside him, unsurprised to see Wheeljack with a guarded expression before the white Autobot turned and walked away with the rest of the dispersing Autobots.

Breakdown walked up to Ratchet, drawing the medic's attention with a rumble of his engine. Ratchet turned to Breakdown and gave him a sad smile.

"I'll miss having you as an assistant, Breakdown," Ratchet said, placing one servo on Breakdown's shoulderplate, "but I trust you will do just as well on Cybertron without me."

Breakdown hesitated, unsure of how to say what he had been wanting to for a long time until he just sighed. "Ratchet. I wanted to say thank you. You were the first one to give me a chance when I first joined. You helped me in more than just repairs. So thank you."

Ratchet slowly smiled and let a gentle laugh rumble from his engine. "You're welcome, Breakdown. But, you did just the same for me. It was good to get to know you. So, thank  _you_ , friend."

Breakdown smiled once more and then held out his servo, which Ratchet took in his own and the two shook servos respectfully.

"Goodbye, Ratchet," Breakdown said as he, with one final look towards the Autobot he could tentatively consider as his friend, met up with Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack and Smokescreen and headed through the open Space Bridge.

Towards Cybertron.

Towards home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter. When I wrote this I thought I would have a few chapters based off of Predacons Rising, but I had no motivation for it. I decided to end the story here as it did get to the point that was most important for the story (being the Autobots and Breakdown returning to Cybertron).


	29. Epilogue (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ACR: After Cybertron's Revival.

_65 Days ACR…_

Five  _orns_ had passed since Breakdown and the Cybertronians of Earth had come home to Cybertron. Breakdown had stayed with the Autobots only briefly after they had arrived on Cybertron, only long enough to procure a sufficient amount of Energon before leaving. He'd made no contact with the Autobots since and, thus, he knew nothing their status since he had left.

Since leaving the Autobots, Breakdown had taken up quiet refuge in the ruins of Ankmor Park, a small city that had been known for its peacefulness before the war.

_At least it is quiet here_ , Breakdown thought as he looked over the vast ruins of Ankmor Park - and Cybertron in whole - wistfully. No matter how much he was glad to be home, on Cybertron, Breakdown could not help but feel like this wasn't truly his  _home_. Yes, Cybertron had revived, the Well of the Allspark, quite literally, restarting the planet in its entirety - though Breakdown was unsure of how  _that_ had happened.

Conflicted, Breakdown slowly strode to his pedes, optic narrowing at the makeshift legs he had fixed - again and  _again_ \- since Cybertron's revival, and walked outside from his small home. The smallest hint of sun was peeking over the ruins of Cybertron, just barely illuminating the planet. Shaking weariness from his chassis, Breakdown transformed into his alt mode - one of the few things he actually  _liked_ that originated from Earth - and set out for a drive.

His tires kicked up faint traces of dust as he raced over the unused, ruined roadway that led out of Ankmor Park, no destination set in his mind. Freedom was destination enough for Breakdown, the freedom to live without fear of war - or humans with machines that dug through his chassis. It was freedom just being back on Cybertron especially when, for so many years, Breakdown had believed Cybertron would  _never_ have life returned to it.

Breakdown drove for a few  _joors_  until he slowed, transforming out of his alt as he ground to a complete stop, optic gazing over the ruins before him. His wheels had taken him to the outer edge of Kaon. An unwelcome wave of memories swamped Breakdown's processor, memories of his time working in the gladiator ring, fighting Autobots and Decepticons, a voice calling his name desperately, sharp servos clutching at his-

Breakdown shook his helm vigorously, chasing away the unwanted memories with a bitter snarl from his engine.  _Stay away, frag it._

With those unwanted memories quelled, Breakdown turned his attention back to the ruins of Kaon. He could sense that Kaon was alive again, much like Ankmor Park, even though the former Decepticon city had nothing in way of repairs throughout the ruins. Drawing in a deep breath through his vents, Breakdown headed down to the ruins of Kaon, an ancient wariness worming its way into his spark as he drew closer to the empty ruins.

_No matter how much life has been restored to Kaon, no mech lives here_ , Breakdown noted as he walked into the ruins, optic scanning each dark alley or building closely. Breakdown didn't favor the idea of being surprised and, of all cities on Cybertron, Breakdown trusted Kaon the least.

The  _thud_ of Breakdown's pedesteps was the only audible noise he could hear in Kaon's ruins for not even the quiet hum of Cybertron could be heard in Kaon's ruins. It was deeply unsettling to Breakdown, to feel life in Cybertron itself but, here in Kaon, it seemed empty of anything resembling life.

Breakdown stepped around one ruin, which loosely resembled the ruins of a Decepticon medical building, optic scanning-

"BREAKDOWN!" The excited shout was sudden, jarring and was accompanied by something slamming into Breakdown's chassis. Breakdown immediately snapped into a defensive mode, left servo switching into its hammer alt as he activated his shoulder cannon and aimed down at-

_Smokescreen._

The young, blue tinted Autobot stepped away from Breakdown, arms unlocking from Breakdown's chassis as the young Autobot looked up at him excitedly.

"How have you been? We haven't seen you in  _orns_ and a certain few mechs have been worried about you? Also, what are you doing out here in Kaon?" Smokescreen blurted out, his door kibble bouncing with each of his words.

"Uh," Breakdown gasped, overwhelmed by Smokescreen's excited words.

Smokescreen waved his servos, interrupting any of what Breakdown could have said, instead interjecting with a smile. "Why don't you come visit us? The Autobots have lots to fill you in on,  _lots_."

"Um, well," Breakdown stammered, "I am perfectly good as I am. I-"

"Oh, come on!" Smokescreen yelled, "Just for this night! Come hang with us! The  _Nemesis_ is cool and stuff. And, uh, the Vehicons would like to see you, I bet."

Breakdown stepped back slightly, extremely overwhelmed by Smokescreen's inexplicable excitement and exuberance. Smokescreen seemed to notice Breakdown's obvious hesitance for the blue Autobot's expression fell and his optics turned down from Breakdown.

"Oh, ok. I guess not. Sorry for bothering you, Breakdown," Smokescreen said politely, offering Breakdown a curt nod as he turned away from Breakdown.

Before Smokescreen could transform into his alt and leave though, Breakdown place one servo on the Autobot's shoulder plate.

"Fine," he growled, "I will go with you. If only because you are pathetically annoying when you are sad."

Smokescreen whipped about, faceplate lighting up with joy as he - before Breakdown could stop him - tackled into Breakdown and gave him another unwanted hug.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Smokescreen squealed excitedly as he transformed into his alt and raced circles around Breakdown.

Breakdown rolled his optic at the young Autobot but followed suit, transforming into his alt mode to follow the blue 'bot away from Kaon.

* * *

"So, what exactly have you been up to for the last few  _orns_?" Smokescreen asked for the umpteetnh time, drawing a tired exvent from Breakdown. The two had been driving for ten  _breems_ and were now racing over the Sea of Rust towards the Autobots base.

"Nothing much, I already said that," Breakdown muttered, already regretting his decision to come with Smokescreen.

"Well that is to bad! You missed out on  _loads_ of stuff while you were away!"

"Yes, I  _know_. You already told me about the undead Predacons, Megatron turning 'good' and how Optimus sacrificed himself. I get it kid," Breakdown grumbled, an irritated rumble crackling from his engine.

Smokescreen let out a loud  _meh_ and twisted his mirrors in an attempt to hide his mirth. Breakdown sighed to himself and revved his engine, moving up alongside Smokescreen's sports car alt with a huff of his vents.

After a few short klicks, Smokescreen finally began to slow, the snarl of his engine quieting to a thrum as he pulled up alongside the  _Nemesis_. Breakdown stopped before he got close to the  _Nemesis_ , optic traveling over the surface of the former Decepticon ship quietly.

Smokescreen walked back to Breakdown, helm tilting as he gazed up at Breakdown. "What is it?"

Breakdown said nothing for a time, his thoughts elsewhere until he looked down at Smokescreen with a long exvent. "The last few times I have been on the  _Nemesis_ , I was an enemy. Now I can return to it and see it as I once did. A base, a home."

Smokescreen said nothing, though he did seem to subdue his giddiness at Breakdown's words. "Well then, follow me."

Breakdown watched Smokescreen briefly then followed the Autobot, the two of them slowly walking up the  _Nemesis_ 's boarding ramp. Breakdown was quick to notice how much  _lighter_ the  _Nemesis_ seemed. Light, from Cybertron's sun, filtered in through the giant windows of the bridge and the once-purple highlights were now a very light blue.

The ship itself seemed lighter, for there was no cloistering, suffocating feeling of numerous eyes watching every move you made. The only thing missing was the chatter and rumble of the Vehicons.

Curious about the state of the Vehicons, Breakdown turned to question Smokescreen, who was walking just a bit ahead of him.

"Smokescreen," Breakdown said quietly, said Autoblot slowing to look at Breakdown, "What happened to the Vehicons? Are they okay?"

Smokescreen nodded, "Yeah, the Vehicons are okay. They have been helping rebuild Cybertron with us."

"Oh," Breakdown replied, "then that is good. You are treating them correctly, I would hope."

"Yes, we do."

Breakdown nodded, satisfied, and drew to a halt as Smokescreen stopped at a door. He knocked on the door loudly then stepped back. A few moments later the door snapped open to the ever angry orange and white faceplate of Ratchet.

"Ratchet?" Breakdown hissed, surprise coursing through his spark. Ratchet's gaze turned towards Breakdown, a spark of something racing through his optics as he looked at Breakdown.

"Hello, Breakdown," Ratchet replied, a quiet happiness in his words as he walked up to Breakdown. "I hope you have been well."

"I have been fine," Breakdown replied, "and you?"

Ratchet did not answer at first, a dark look passing over his optics for a brief nanosecond. "I have been well. Relieved to be home, though less so due to the loss of so many for the revival."

Breakdown said nothing as Ratchet turned away from Breakdown and Smokescreen and walked back into his room. As the door shut, Breakdown turned once more to Smokescreen beside him.

"Why did Ratchet not go back to Earth after Optimus sacrificed himself?" Breakdown asked the young mech as Smokescreen led him down another hallway.

"He is planning too. He has only stayed this long because he could not bring himself to leave. Everyone can tell he wants to leave Cybertron though," Smokescreen admitted softly, a servo tightening around his arm self-consciously.

Breakdown looked away from Smokescreen, noting how uncomfortable he seemed with discussing the topic of Ratchet and instead began paying hard attention to the rooms they were passing.

"We must be headed to the training room, aren't we?" Breakdown asked, earning a nod in answer from Smokescreen.

Finally, Smokescreen stopped at the door to the training room, digits tapping in the code to open the door. The two halves of the door opened, and with it, the loud shouts of fighting. Breakdown peered into the room and watched Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus sparring.

None of the three noticed Breakdown or Smokescreen, that is until one of Wheeljack's swords nearly impaled Smokescreen.

"Watch it!" Smokescreen snapped, his temperamental shout drawing the attention of the three fighting mechs.

Wheeljack's optics widened at the sight of Breakdown, Bulkhead mirroring Wheeljack's expression while Ultra Magnus only watched with unreadable optics.

"Breakdown!" Wheeljack called as he ran up to Breakdown and, not unkindly, jabbed him in the side with his shoulder plate. Breakdown frowned at Wheeljack, who didn't even seem to notice as he moved around Breakdown.

Breakdown followed Wheeljack's movements with his one optic, stopping when Wheeljack stopped in front of him.

"What have you been up to since you bolted?" Wheeljack asked, a mocking tone light in his voice.

"Not much," Breakdown huffed, earning a disappointed frown from Wheeljack.

"Sounds boring. You should have stayed with us, you would have had something interesting to do."

"Yeah," Bulkhead finally said, though he sounded unhappy to see Breakdown, "we could have used your help in fighting the undead Predacons. Instead, you fled like a coward."

Breakdown glowered at Bulkhead, rage itching under his chassis at Bulkhead's words. Breakdown opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Ultra Magnus, who sent a scathing look towards Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead, silence yourself," Ultra Magnus snapped, "you cannot judge Breakdown for leaving. He is not an Autobot and thus we cannot hold him to fault for not aiding in the battle. All of us knew he wished only to be here on Cybertron once more and you, Bulkhead, must come to realize we cannot hold others to blame for Optimus sacrificing himself."

Bulkhead glowered, his blue optics narrowing as he turned his full attention on Ultra Magnus. "That isn't why I am complaining-"

"Do not lie to yourself," Ultra Magnus said quietly with a shake of his helm, "I can tell you are still grieving the loss of Optimus and that you believe if Breakdown had been here, Optimus could still be alive. As much as you, and the rest of us  _Autobots_ wish Optimus was still with us, you should not blame Breakdown for anything. Everyone had the right to help or not and we shall not hold anyone to fault for their decision."

Bulkhead said nothing in response, glaring at Ultra Magnus then Breakdown before stomping away from the training room with an irritated huff from his vents.

"Don't take Bulkhead's words to spark, Breakdown," Wheeljack said, "he's still pretty shook up from Prime's sacrifice."

Breakdown looked down at Wheeljack, who was absentmindedly polishing his swords as he spoke. Ultra Magnus gave Breakdown a quiet shake of his helm before the blue Autobot followed after Bulkhead. Smokescreen nudged Breakdown, urging for him to follow.

Breakdown vented and obliged, giving a curt 'see ya' to Wheeljack as he followed Smokescreen away from the training room. Smokescreen tilted his helm towards Breakdown, servo pointing forwards as they walked.

"Arcee and Bumblebee should be back from patrol momentarily. I know they would like to see-"

"Breakdown?"

A smooth, high voice interrupted Smokescreen and, with a flash of red, Knock Out -  _Knock Out_ \- leapt in front of Breakdown and Smokescreen, a guarded expression lighting his optics. Breakdown stared at Knock Out, shocked to see his former ally here on the  _Nemesis_ with the Autobots.

"Knock Out," Breakdown muttered civilly, unsure of what to think of Knock Out standing in front of him. Knock Out wheeled his gaze to Smokescreen, who muttered something to the Decepticon medic quietly and then let out a light snort of laughter from his vents. Knock Out turned his gaze back to Breakdown and-  _smiled_. The red hued Decepticon seemed  _happy_ to see Breakdown, which was odd since the last time they had talked, Knock Out had been quite unhappy seeing Breakdown.

"Have you come to see the gloriousness of myself, Breakdown? Been missing me for the last few solar cycles?" Knock Out asked haughtily, arms crossing over his chest plate as he looked up at Breakdown with a vain glint in his optics.

Breakdown looked down at Knock Out, a note of disgust bitter on his glossa as he glared down at Knock Out. "Just as self-absorbed as ever, Knock Out. And no, I  _don't_ miss you."

To Breakdown's surprise, Knock Out actually looked hurt at his response, his red optics turning away from Breakdown with a quiet exvent. "I see. Good day then, Breakdown." Knock Out backed away from Breakdown and Smokescreen with those words and hurriedly walked down an adjacent hallway.

Smokescreen shot Breakdown a confused look, servo gesturing after Knock Out as the young Autobot stared up at Breakdown. "Uh, what was that for, Breakdown? Knock Out has been worried about you since he joined the Autobots after we defeated Unicron here."

"I highly doubt that," Breakdown snapped, brushing past Smokescreen as he stomped towards the  _Nemesis_ 's bridge and thus, the exit.

"Hey! Breakdown, wait!" Smokescreen called, quickly skidding in front of Breakdown with a pointed glare.

Breakdown drew to a stop with a frustrated snarl escaping his engine as he glared down at Smokescreen. "Get out of the way, Smokescreen. I've spent enough time here-"

"Breakdown, give the Autobot a chance." It only took a few nanoseconds for Breakdown to recognize the deep voice that rumbled behind him, his optic turning to the large former Decepticon Seeker, Dreadwing.

"Dreadwing?" Breakdown gasped, "What are you doing here? Are you part of the Autobots now?"

"No," Dreadwing said with a shake of his helm, "I am as you are. A loner with allegiance to any faction. I am here on the  _Nemesis_ for I was invited to the Autobots celebration of Cybertron's revival. The Autobots contacted me yesterday and invited me to the celebration."

"Celebration?" Breakdown asked, shooting a confused look to Smokescreen, who shrugged apologetically.

"Yeah, it has been two months since we got Cybertron back. Bumblebee decided to throw a celebration party for that and he invited Dreadwing, all of the Vehicons and even the Predacons. He tried to contact you but we weren't able to so Bumblebee, Arcee and I went out looking for you. I already told them I found you," Smokescreen admitted, helm ducking sheepishly as he looked away from Breakdown.

Breakdown looked to Dreadwing, who gave him a slow nod of confirmation before turning and walking back down the hallway he had come from. Breakdown watched the former Decepticon for a moment then gave a light nudge to Smokescreen's shoulder plate.

"You could have told me that this was a celebration from the beginning. You have no reason to hide information from me," Breakdown hissed. He was displeased with the fact that Smokescreen had not just explained to him for the beginning about this 'celebration'. Smokescreen, to his credit, looked guilty about his lack of forwardness with Breakdown, blue helm ducking self-consciously.

" _Smokescreen, status update?"_ Arcee's voice broke over the silence, crackling from Smokescreen's radio system.

"I'm good. You guys?" Smokescreen replied, optics shooting to Breakdown for a second then back to the floor of the hallway.

" _We found Predaking and the others. It seems like Shockwave has been able to find more Predacon bones and has been cloning more Predacons since Unicron was defeated,"_ a voice explained, one Breakdown faintly recognized as Bumblebee, " _Predaking will be attending our celebration, along with Darksteel and Skylynx."_

"Good to know," Smokescreen replied, "I will start trying the others ready for the celebration."

" _Thanks, Smokescreen."_ With those words, Breakdown heard the audible  _click_ of Smokescreen's communication lines being cut. Once they were, Smokescreen turned to Breakdown with a hesitant smile.

"I realize I should have asked you before, Breakdown, but do you wish to attend our celebration, party,  _thing_?" Smokescreen asked Breakdown, a quiet, nervous hopefulness heavy in his question.

Breakdown vented, rolled his optic but gave the young Autobot a nod. "Since I am already here, I might as well stay for this celebration."

"Awesome!" Smokescreen breathed, "I have to get ready for the celebration party. You can do what you want, just meet up at the flight deck in five  _groons_ for the celebration."

Got it," Breakdown vented. Smokescreen gave him a happy nod, transformed into his alt mode and raced off towards the  _Nemesis_ 's bridge.

Breakdown stood in the hallway for a few undecided klicks then, with a tired rumble escaping his engine, Breakdown headed up to the  _Nemesis_ 's flight deck.

* * *

The sound of metal clashing against the flight deck tore Breakdown from his recharge, nerves lancing through his spark as his optic turned up to stare into huge, yellow optics.

"Predaking," Breakdown breathed, hurriedly turning his gaze away from the piercing optics of Predaking's dragon form. Hot steam puffed from Predaking's jaws and, with a hiss of shifting metal, Predaking transformed out of his alt mode.

"Hello, Autobot," Predaking rumbled above Breakdown. Wisely, Breakdown did not correct the Predacon on the fact that he  _was not_ an Autobot.

"Good light, Predaking," Breakdown said, ducking his helm respectfully - and nervously - to the towering mech as he clambered up on his pedes.

"I thank the Autobots for inviting me to this celebration," Predaking began, "I believe our kinds can ally peacefully together and, by inviting my people and I to this meeting, I believe it is very possible."

Breakdown nodded, optic flirting away from Predaking as he gave an agreeing grunt.

"Ah, Predaking, glad to see you came!" Bumblebee's voice snapped Predaking's attention away from Breakdown. Breakdown let out a sigh of relief as the weight of Predaking's gaze and presence left him.

Letting a shudder rattle through his chassis, Breakdown turned his gaze towards Bumblebee and Predaking, audial sensors tuning to hear the two mechs' discussion better.

"Where are Skylynx and Darksteel, Predaking? I believed I invited all of you, did I not?" Bumblebee asked Predaking.

"Both are busy, and I believed this would be a good time to introduce you to the newest member to my tribe," Predaking announced, turning to point to the sky. Breakdown looked up in time to see a large, ivory hued dragon Predacon land beside Predaking.

This Predacon had a longer body than Predaking's alt form, though they had no front arms and instead used their wings as front limbs. Breakdown could faintly remember Miko describing this Predacon's alt form as a  _wyvern_.  _Whatever that means._

The wyvern Predacon bowed its head to Predaking, then did the same to Bumblebee.

Predaking turned back to Bumblebee with a small nod. "She calls herself Ivyscorch. She is the first Predacon Shockwave has successfully revived since Unicron desecrated the Predacon burial grounds."

Bumblebee glanced up at Ivyscorch, who was looking around the  _Nemesis_ curiously, tail fluttering against the flight deck quietly.

"It is nice to meet you, Ivyscorch," Bumblebee acknowledged, "and I welcome your presence aboard the  _Nemesis_."

Ivyscorch looked down at Bumblebee and then transformed out of her dragon alt, revealing a mech form that was only a helm or two shorter than Predaking, her chassis blinding ivory white and her arms ridged with the metal of her dragon forms wings. Her optics were yellow like Predaking's, and her chassis sleek.

"Your hospitality is noted and appreciated, Bumblebee of the Autobots," Ivyscorch rumbled, her voice cold and deep, "Predaking has told me much about the Autobots and Decepticon, especially about your deceased leader."

"Oh," Bumblebee muttered, "yes."

Ivyscorch titled her helm at Bumblebee's words, an unreadable expression flashing through her optics momentarily. "You mourn him, do you not?"

"Yes, we all miss Optimus," Bumblebee admitted quietly. To Breakdown, and evidently Bumblebee's, surprise, Ivyscorch gently placed one of her clawed servos on the yellow Autobot's shoulder plate. Bumblebee looked up at the Predacon briefly, then quickly looked away as Ivyscorch removed her servo from Bumblebee's shoulder plate.

Bumblebee shook himself briefly then returned a smile to his faceplate as he looked up at Predaking. "If you two wish, you can stay out here on the flight deck. We will be starting our celebration and the meeting I discussed with you in less than a  _groon_."

"That will be fine," Predaking assured, giving Bumblebee his own smile as the Predacon leader signaled for Ivyscorch to follow him to the end of the  _Nemesis_ 's flight deck. Bumblebee suddenly noticed Breakdown, surprising him by running over to Breakdown.

Bumblebee stopped in front of Breakdown. "Hello, Breakdown. Knock Out has been looking for you since you got onto the  _Nemesis_ ," Bumblebee said, optics narrowing as he met Breakdown's gaze.

Breakdown frowned, an unhappy growl rumbling from his engine at the mention of Knock Out. "Why would Knock Out be looking to talk with me?"

"I have no clue, Breakdown," Bumblebee shrugged, "Knock Out never tells us anything, and now that you are back he's been talking our audials off. Now, please excuse me. I have to get ready for the celebration."

Without waiting for Breakdown's response, Bumblebee turned and left the flight deck, leaving Breakdown to the company of the two Predacons. Breakdown glanced over at them, noting how both were staring at him with matching expressions of incredulity. Ducking his helm to avoid the gazes of both Predacons, Breakdown moved to the end of the flight deck that was furthest from the two dragons.

Breakdown settled into his alt mode, mirrors turning for a better view of the  _Nemesis_ 's hanger bay and the Predacons and, tiredly, he waited.

* * *

"Ah! There you are Breakdown!"

Breakdown snapped out of his half-recharge at the sound of Knock Out's voice and then the uncomfortable sensation of sharp servos running down his chassis. Breakdown snapped out of his alt mode, glowering down at Knock Out, who had jolted back in surprise from breakdown's reaction, red optics wide with shock.

"Don't  _ever_ touch me," Breakdown snarled, his spark burning with anger as he glared down at Knock Out.

Knock Out stuttered, something Breakdown had never heard from the Decepticon medic, his red optics scanning over Breakdown in bewilderment.

"Breakdown," Knock Out breathed, a faint note of pain edging onto the medic's voice as he gazed up at Breakdown. "What in Primus is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with  _me_?" Breakdown hissed, affronted by Knock Out's question, "You're kidding right?  _This_ is why you were looking for me? To know what is wrong with me?"

"No, that isn't-"

" _Enough_ Knock Out. I'm tired of hearing you try and lie your way out of the truth. You," Breakdown jabbed his servo against Knock Out's chest plate forcefully, causing the red mech to stumble backwards slightly, "self-obsessed piece of slag!"

Knock Out glared up at Breakdown, fury sparking through his optics as he snarled at Breakdown, "I am not self-obsessed! I just want to talk to you,  _civilly_ as friends."

"We are not friends," Breakdown snarled, "and we never were. So leave me  _alone_."

"Fine," Knock Out vented as he turned on his heel and stormed away. Breakdown watched him go then let an unhappy snarl loose from his engine.

Breakdown transformed into his alt mode in a huff and backed into a corner of the  _Nemesis_ , chassis shaking with anger. He stayed in that spot, stewing on his anger and frustration, optic watching as the Autobots slowly began to filter onto the flight deck.

First was Bumblebee, with Arcee and Smokescreen following close behind the scout. All three seemed to have waxed and polished their chassis's, as all three had a certain sleek shine to themselves.

Arcee glanced over and noticed Breakdown, optics narrowing. The blue two-wheeler said something to Bumblebee, who gave her a nod before she turned and headed toward Breakdown.

Breakdown bristled as Arcee walked up to him, servos pressed against her hip plates as she glared at Breakdown's alt mode.

"Show some friendliness Breakdown. Stop moping around in your alt," Arcee hissed, smacking Breakdown's hood with one servo. Breakdown snapped out of his alt mode with a furious snarl, shooting the Autobot a venomous glare as she watched him.

"How about you leave me alone, Arcee," Breakdown snarled, servos clenching into fists as he glowered down at Arcee.

Arcee snorted, her vents puffing with laughter as she shook her helm. "Leave you alone like you left us. We could have used your help against Unicron and his undead Predacon army. Instead you fled, like the Decepticon coward you have always been."

Breakdown stuttered back, a flush of pain ripping through his core at Arcee's words. He opened his mouth to retort, to say something, but Arcee silenced him with a venomous glare of her own.

"Don't try and make an excuse. I don't even know why Bumblebee would want you to be part of this celebration. At least Dreadwing helped us fight the Predacons. You? You fled and never looked back, even though the Autobots had done so much to help you." Arcee gave Breakdown no time to reply for, with a snort of disgust puffing from her vents, Arcee stormed back to Bumblebee and Smokescreen.

Breakdown watched the Autobot leave and let out a tired exvent.  _She's right. I left the Autobots and didn't stay to ensure the safety of Cybertron._

Unhappily, Breakdown moved closer to the wall of the  _Nemesis_ , his back thudding against the sleek metal. His optic trailed away from the Autobots and Predacons, a choking, clawing sensation digging into his spark. He sunk to the decking, servos clutching at his helm as his sole optic shuttered close tightly.

Breakdown's thoughts sunk into darkness, zeroing in on what kind of  _coward_ he was to leave, to abandon-

The light sensation of a servo being placed on Breakdown's shoulder plate snapped him out of his thoughts, nerves spiking as he turned his helm to the left to see who was next to him. It was Wheeljack, the former Wrecker gazing upon him with a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" Wheeljack asked as he looked over at Breakdown quizzically.

Breakdown gave Wheeljack a noncommittal shrug, not wanting to explain to the white Autobot what  _was_ wrong with him.

Wheeljack stared at Breakdown for awhile then, with a tired vent, bent down beside Breakdown. Breakdown looked at Wheeljack, unsure of his intentions, wary of what he wanted from Breakdown.

"Yes?" Breakdown asked hesitantly, optic locked onto Wheeljack, who was staring at him intently.

"Don't let Arcee get to you, Breakdown. She's taken Optimus's sacrifice pretty harshly and she wants to blame someone. Unfortunately for you, she has picked you to hurt today. She went after Bulkhead yesterday. Made him cry," Wheeljack admitted with a soft laugh.

"But there was truth to Arcee's words, Wheeljack," Breakdown muttered unhappily, servo digging at his shoulder plate nervously.

"Nah, you had every right to leave us. You made it plenty clear you wanted nothing to do with the Autobots for a long time. Everyone figured you weren't going to stay around for long once we came home," Wheeljack said, blue optics turning to Breakdown. Wheeljack narrowed his optics as he gazed at Breakdown's faceplate with a scrutinizing look.

"Where's your optic patch?" He asked, indicating the open scar where MECH had torn Breakdown's right optic out.

Breakdown turned his helm away from Wheeljack, still uncomfortable with talking about his missing optic. "It got torn off when we surged the  _Nemesis._ I have never found the time to replace it. It's a tough procedure to do to one's self."

"I think you look better without the optic patch," Wheeljack said truthfully. "Might spook some fools off of bothering you."

"But this," Breakdown indicated his missing optic vehemently, "is a reminder of how I let myself be captured and tortured by  _humans_. Humans for Prime's sake!"

"I understand, Breakdown-"

"No, you don't, Wheeljack!" Breakdown scoffed, optic rolling, "You  _don't_ know what it's like being strapped down, knowing you at the mercy of  _humans_. You don't know the despair one feels when you realize you've been left for dead."

Wheeljack's audials dropped slightly, his optics darkening as he let out a long vent. "But I do, Breakdown. I was captured and tortured by Starscream  _twice_ , so I do know what that is like."

Breakdown looked away from Wheeljack, a frustrated growl rumbling from his engine. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Wheeljack started at Breakdown's question, a flash of pain sparking through Wheeljack's optics as he turned his helm away from Breakdown. "You can't figure it out?"

Breakdown huffed in response, servos tapping against his chassis with impatience as he looked down at Wheeljack. Noting Breakdown's silence, Wheeljack let out a vent and shook his helm softly.

"I saw how you were, back there on Earth. You wanted nothing to do with the Autobots, but you still helped them as much as you could," Wheeljack explained, "You showed me that you have changed since you betrayed the Wreckers. For that alone, I think you deserve a second chance. I've been thinking-"

"Wheeljack! Breakdown! Get over here, you are missing out!" Bumblebee's shout interrupted whatever Wheeljack was going to say. almost immediately, Wheeljack leapt to his pedes and, with one last look towards Breakdown, ran over to where the Autobots, Predacons, Dreadwing and a mass of Vehicons were all gathered.

Breakdown gathered himself to his pedes and followed Wheeljack, halting beside Dreadwing, who acknowledged him with a curt nod. Breakdown bowed his helm respectfully then turned to watch the Autobots.

Bumblebee looked around the group of gathered mechs and, with a deep exvent, began to talk. "I want to thank everyone here for attending this celebration. Some of you may be wondering why I would invite you and, the reason is that all of us here helped, in some way, return our planet back to how it is now. It was all of us together, Predacons, Autobots, Decepticons, Vehicons, all of us that made it possible for us to go home.

"We may have been enemies for many eons, but I believe, deep in my spark, that we can move past that and forge a new Cybertron, a Cybertron that fits for  _everyone_ ," Bumblebee finished, optics shifting between the entire group, hesitating momentarily on Predaking and Ivyscorch.

"And who will decide this? You Autobots?" A Vehicon growled, her voice edged with distrust as she stepped forward. Breakdown recognized the Vehicon, known as Threadsteel, who was one of the  _Nemesis_ 's most veteran pilots. He had always found Threadsteel to be a temperamental mech who enjoyed arguing with those of higher authority than her.

"No," Bumblebee replied with a shake of his helm, "this is not a decision I, or the rest of the Autobots will make alone. That is why I want all of us gathered here to work together-"

"To ensure that the Autobots rule Cybertron,  _again_?" Threadsteel snarled. Bumblebee looked slightly perturbed at her interruption again, his optics narrowing slightly as he glared at the purple Vehicon.

"That is not my, or the rest of the Autobots here, intentions," Bumblebee tried to explain, but Threadsteel interrupted him with a snarl from her engine.

"I don't believe anything you Autobots say. You always act haughty and-"

"Threadsteel," Breakdown snapped, "shut up."

Threadsteel stared at Breakdown, her red visor flickering with hate as she stared at Breakdown, but she seemed to heed his words for she backed away from Bumblebee with an angry huff. Bumblebee gave Breakdown a thankful nod, then turned back to looking around the group.

"I understand if you do not believe me when I say that I wish for full cooperation between all of us gathered here. But I do mean it," Bumblebee said.

Breakdown heard a few quiet mutters from the Vehicons, but no one interrupted Bumblebee this time.

"And I believe that all of us deserve a voice in how Cybertron is shaped from here on out," Bumblebee finished.

Predaking was the first to speak out, his deep rumble drawing the attention of all to him. "I only care that my Predacons and I will be treated fairly. My species was exterminated many eons before and I believe it is only right that we are given the chance to live freely once more."

"That is the least you deserve, Predaking," Bumblebee assured, helm bowing respectfully.

"But that is not all that I request," Predaking rumbled, and Breakdown was not foolish enough to not notice the threat in Predaking's words as the Predacon continued to speak, "I want to request a seat on the ruling government of Cybertron. I do not trust others to make laws for my Predacon brethren and thus I  _will_ occupy a seat in whatever government is decided upon so I can assure that my brethren will be treated fairly."

"That is understandable," Bumblebee said, earning a quiet growl from Predaking and Ivyscorch as he looked towards the others gathered about.

Breakdown sensed someone's gaze on him and turned to notice that Dreadwing was giving him a meaningful look.

"Yes, Dreadwing?" Breakdown asked, helm turning to the blue Seeker standing beside him.

"I am not foolish enough to believe that everything will be better. You and I were Decepticons, and well known ones at that. It would not surprise me if the Autobots will turn on us at some point," Dreadwing said quietly, red optics narrow as he watched Bumblebee and the Autobots discussing something amongst themselves.

Breakdown growled unhappily, knowing Ethan Dreadwing was very easily right in his beliefs. "The Autobots won the war. That will make them believe everything they say is right."

Dreadwing nodded in agreement, then turned suddenly when Bumblebee and Arcee walked up to him and Breakdown. Breakdown watched the two Autobots warily, optic narrowing as Bumblebee gave both a respectful nod.

"Dreadwing, Breakdown. I could not help but overhear your conversation," Bumblebee said, Arcee snorting derisively behind the scout's back. Bumblebee shot Arcee a glare, which she returned in kind but did fall silent.

Bumblebee turned back to Breakdown and Dreadwing, helm tilting to the side slightly. "Would you two be willing to explain what you were discussing between yourselves?"

Breakdown glanced over at Dreadwing briefly, the Seeker responding with a quick nod of his helm. Dreadwing turned to Bumblebee, voice stuff as he explained what he and Breakdown had discussed.

When Dreadwing finished, Bumblebee and Arcee glanced at each other then Bumblebee gave both a quizzical look.

"Why do you believe this?" Bumblebee asked incredulously, blue optics wide with confusion.

"Because we are not blind to the truth," Dreadwing growled, "We were both Decepticons for eons, eons that we will be remembered by instead of what we are now. Breakdown served with the Autobots for nearly two human years, but those who come to power won't see that. They will only see him as one of Megatron's commanding officers. The same will be seen of me."

Bumblebee looked nervous, unhappy, and his tone reflected that as he replied to Dreadwing. "We won't allow that to happen to any of you that turned against the Decepticon cause-"

"And how can you guarantee that, Bumblebee?" Breakdown asked bitingly.

"Because we can,  _I_ can," Bumblebee spluttered, "the Autobots that come here will understand what you two, and Knock Out, did to help our cause. You won't be punished for your role as Decepticons."

Dreadwing let out a snort of disbelief from his vents, servos tightening into fists as he looked down upon Bumblebee. "You cannot - or will not - see the truth yet, but soon you will see."

Bumblebee said nothing in response for, with a final look towards the Autobots and Breakdown, Dreadwing transformed into his alt mode and jetted away from the  _Nemesis_.

Bumblebee looked toward Breakdown, a question in his optics. "Do you really believe what Dreadwing is saying?"

Breakdown looked down at Bumblebee, noting how confused the Autobot seemed and gave him a tight scowl.

"Of course I do, Bumblebee. You don't have to worry about the wrath of the winners - the Autobots - because you are one," Breakdown said quietly, "I am familiar with how easily hate blinds one's self. And I won't put it past the surviving Autobots to fall prey to their hatred for Decepticons. Even traitors."

Breakdown did not wait to hear if Bumblebee would say anything, turning away from the scout and Arcee as he walked away from the meeting. He walked past Wheeljack, who stared at him with an unreadable expression and past Knock Out, who quickly looked away from Breakdown as he walked past.

"Breakdown, wait!" Bumblebee suddenly skidded in front of Breakdown, servos grabbing onto Breakdown's arm.

Breakdown looked down upon Bumblebee, his one optic narrowing as Bumblebee slowly let go of his arm.

"Breakdown, please, just give me a klick," Bumblebee asked, optics pleading. Breakdown snorted unhappily but allowed Bumblebee his moment to talk. Bumblebee looked relieved at the fact Breakdown was giving him a chance and, with a quite vent, Bumblebee glanced up at Breakdown.

"Breakdown, I- I don't know what to say to convince you that you and the rest of the former Decepticons won't be mistreated-"

"Because you can't."

"I get that," Bumblebee grumbled, "but at least let me talk."

"Whatever," Breakdown grumpled. Bumblebee looked hurt as he glanced up at Breakdown, but Breakdown figured it was only because he wasn't believing Bumblebee's 'you will be treated right' speech.

"Look, Breakdown, all of us - Arcee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Smokescreen, Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, even Optimus - saw the truth of who you are now. You are not a Decepticon - and, by your own convictions, neither an Autobot - and you proved that you are a mech that deserves another chance here on Cybertron. No mech will see you as a Decepticon-"

"And that," Breakdown snapped, "is where you are wrong, Bumblebee. You will never be able to convince the Autobots that come back here that I no longer align myself with the Decepticon cause. They will see anything I say as a lie."

Bumblebee hesitated at Breakdown's harsh tone, which gave Breakdown a chance to walk past Bumblebee, not intending to stay any longer than he had. But, before he could get any further, Bumblebee stopped him with one servo. Breakdown wheeled his gaze on Bumblebee, glaring down into the Autobot's blue optics as Bumblebee let go of his arm once again.

"At least tell me something I can do for you, Breakdown," Bumblebee muttered, "Whatever you ask I will try my best to ensure happens."

Breakdown raised an optic ridge, a disbelieving snort escaping his vents as he rolled his optic.

"I mean it, Breakdown," Bumblebee muttered, hurt edging through his voice.

"The only thing I ask of you and the autobots is to treat the Vehicons as you would normal Cybertronians," Breakdown said, "they are willing workers and will do what you tell them but the Vehicons, all of them, deserve respect. If you look beyond the fact that they were created by megatron for his army you will see an individual in each one. Treat them right. That is all I request."

"Oh, uh, sure," Bumblebee said, "I will do what I can for the Vehicons."

Breakdown glared at Bumblebee one last time and then walked away from the  _Nemesis_.

* * *

_Nine Months ACR…_

Breakdown stalked past two Cybertronians, formerly aligned with the Autobots, shooting the two mechs a glare when both flinched back from him. In the time since Breakdown had stormed away from the Autobots on the  _Nemesis_ , more and more Cybertronians had begun returning to their revived planet.

Most of the returning mechs had settled into Iacon or other city-states near Iacon, though a few had settled down in Ankmor Park. Breakdown had not been thrilled when he realized that most of the mechs moving into the only just repaired Ankmor Park were Autobots. And the Autobots seemed to think they same for, every time he walked by any Autobot, they flinched away from him or spat curses in his direction.

Breakdown had quickly come to ignore the idiotic Autobots over the months, but sometimes - especially when he caught the Autobots staring at his missing optic - he could not help but feel uneasy around the Autobots.

"Hey, Decepticon!"

Breakdown flinched at the loud shout originating from behind him, turning slowly to look at the perpetrator of the shout. Standing behind him, with arms crossed over his chest, was a dark blue Autobot, optics narrowed as he glared up at Breakdown.

"What do you want?" Breakdown growled, his engine letting out a threatening rumble.

The blue Autobot - a grounder, by the looks of him - glowered at Breakdown, hate pulsing off his chassis.

"Why are Decepticon scum like you allowed to wander our streets? You, and the rest of your kind, are the reason Cybertron was destroyed! You should all be taken to the Smelter Pits and be served the justice you deserve!" The Autobot looked infuriated as he shouted at Breakdown, his voice edged with fury.

"Everyone has the right to live here on Cybertron," Breakdown intoned briefly, reciting the same words he had grown used to saying since Autobots had begun moving into Ankmor Park.

The Autobot before him let out a mocking laugh at Breakdown's response, drawing the attention of other Autobots that were nearby.

"Yeah, that may be true in Kaon, where you Decepticon slag should all live. You," the Autobot began talking louder, "are filthy and evil and I fear for my life with a Decepticon living in  _my_ city."

"This isn't just  _your_ city," Breakdown snarled, servos clenching as he glowered down at the Autobot. "And you can't make rules over who lives where,  _Autobot_."

"We can make the rules because we  _won_!" The Autobot shouted, the other gathered Autobots muttering in agreement. The first Autobot smiled at the supporting shouts, turning a nasty glare to Breakdown.

The Autobot smugly jabbed his servo into Breakdown's chest plate forcefully, pushing Breakdown back ever so slightly. Breakdown snarled at the Autobot, his optic twisting to the side, freezing when he realized that the other Autobots had gathered around him in a circle so he was trapped. Breakdown's spark clenched with a flood of nervous energy as he looked around at all of the Autobots, each with varying degrees of hate burning in their optics.

"Go away, Decepticon!"

"Optimus Prime's team should have killed all of you Decepticons!"

"Murderer!"

The swarm of voices overwhelmed Breakdown, his helm snapping to each voice, optic spinning wildly, servos clenched-

"Let's get rid of this Decepticon ourselves!" One voice shouted, the words silencing the other Autobots surrounding Breakdown.

The crowd of Autobots parted, revealing a flyer Autobot with a brown and cream colored chassis, pale blue optics narrowed to flint as he walked up in front of Breakdown. The Autobot turned his back on Breakdown and faced the encircling Autobots.

"For those of you who don't know my name, I am Bronzesweep. I served in one of the Autobots most elite units, the Nightrunners. I fought for our home,  _our_ planet and now, standing before us is one of those  _responsible_ for the destruction of Cybertron," the Autobot, Valin, boomed, shooting Breakdown a hateful look at the end of his words.

"This Decepticon has been hiding out here, in peaceful Ankmor Park, for awhile. He has caused unrest and fear for everyone of us  _innocent_ and peaceful Autobots," Bronzesweep shouted, his words being met by jeers and boos from the crowd, all directed towards Breakdown, "And he will continue doing so unless someone takes action! We cannot allow this Decepticon to continue terrorizing those in Ankmor Park."

Bronzesweep shot Breakdown a smug look, a triumphant smile curling over his faceplate, "What do you, citizens of Ankmor Park, think?"

"Get rid of him!"

"Send him to the Decepticon Patrol Force!"

With each suggestion thrown out, the mob of Autobots moved ever closer to Breakdown, fury ringing through their voices. Breakdown stepped backwards, twisted around, desperate to keep his vision on the Autobots. But there were so many and all of them were shouting, bristling with fury, nerves choked at Breakdown, he had to get them  _away_ -

Suddenly the crowd burst apart with shouts of terror, Autobots fleeing left and right, leaving Breakdown to himself. Breakdown's optic turned, a jolt of fear shooting through his core as he realized his shoulder cannon was activate and  _smoking_. Slowly, Breakdown turned his gaze in the direction that his cannon was aimed and quickly stumbled back.

Laying on the ground, with a smoking hole in her chest, was a femme Autobot, servos twitching with her last nanoseconds of life.

"No," Breakdown gasped, "no, no, no!"

Breakdown quickly deactivated his shoulder cannon, hurriedly moving to the femme, hoping he could do  _something_ for her. He moved to bend down beside the injured Autobot but sharp servos stopped him a small yanked him away from the injured mech.

"Get away from her, you slagging Decepticon!" It was Bronzesweep, his optics burning with fury as he drug Breakdown away from femme. "You just killed an Autobot!"

Breakdown's mouth opened, but no words came out, only a high-pitched whir of stress from his engine.

"You will pay for killing Echoglass, Decepticon," Bronzesweep snarled, his grip like a vice on Breakdown's arm. Breakdown could only stare at the still smoldering form of the Autobot, the  _Cybertronian_ , he had killed, guilt constricting his spark.

Finally, Breakdown felt Bronzesweep's grip loosen from arm and he could once again bring himself to his pedes. Shaking his helm to clear his thoughts, Breakdown gathered himself to his pedes, warily looking around his surroundings. He could only faintly recognize where Bronzesweep had drug him as it was one of the newest rebuilt buildings in Ankmor Park, and that was the city's Anti-Decepticon Enforcement Group - or ADEG for the lazy mechs.

The ADEG had been formed by an Autobot named Metalflash and was designed to be a central control force for any rogue Decepticons that caused any sort of trouble. Any Decepticon caught by the ADEG was, more often than not, never heard from again. Breakdown had done his best to avoid the ADEG enforcers over the months, he didn't favor the idea of whatever Metalflash and his enforcers did to the Decepticons they caught.

_And now, I've been drug to one. Great._

"Stay there, Decepticon," Bronzesweep snarled at Breakdown as the Autobot walked into the ADEG's building.

Only a few nanoseconds later, not enough time for Breakdown to run, did Bronzesweep and another Autobot, marked with the insignia of the ADEG, walked out of the building. The Autobot from the ADEG seemed to smile with glee when he saw Breakdown, the Autobot practically skipping over to Breakdown, skidding to a stop in front of him.

"Well, well. If it isn't Breakdown," the ADEG enforcer growled, "I have heard  _a lot_ about you. It is quite nice to finally meet you! Metalflash has been wanting you for a long time."

Breakdown only growled in response, which made the ADEG enforcer snort with laughter.

"Defiant as always. Now, would you follow me?" The enforcer asked, his tone simpering with fake politeness. Breakdown glowered at the enforcer but did as he said, following after the Autobot without protest.

The enforcer led him into the ADEG building and down numerous, identical hallways, until the two stopped in front of a set of large doors. The enforcer turned to Breakdown with an unreadable smile and pointed towards the door with one servo.

"Wait in there, please."

Breakdown stared at the enforcer suspiciously but walked into the room as the enforcer opened the doors for him, optic shifting around the room as he entered in. The room was dark and lacked any sort of lighting - the only lighting was from the open doors - and, no matter how hard Breakdown looked, he could make out no shapes in the room. Breakdown began to back away, fear rising in his spark at the encroaching darkness, but the sound of doors slamming behind him snapped Breakdown's attention to the entrance to the room.

The room was pitch black now and, as Breakdown's optic began to slowly adjust to the lack of light, he picked up the faint sound of saws. Breakdown did not move, optic shifting slightly around the dark room, panic edging its claws into his spark.

Suddenly, without warning, the sound of the saws screamed in hs audials, followed by a taunting laugh that he  _still_ recognized. Breakdown panicked. His shoulder cannon activated and he backed into a wall, servos transforming into their hammer alts as his optic snapped about the room, searching for  _him_.

"So the rumors are true," a voice suddenly boomed through the room, muting the sound of the saws and  _that_ voice. Breakdown looked for the origin of the voice but he saw nothing in the dark room.

"Who are you?" Breakdown growled, choking down the note of panic still in his voice as he looked around the room once more.

"My name is not important to you, Breakdown. What is important is the crime that you committed today. You killed an innocent Autobot by the name of Echoglass. We don't tolerate violence here in Ankmor Park," the voice continued, "and you will have to pay for the death of a fellow Cybertronian."

"It was an accident!" Breakdown shouted at the voice, denta grinding together with anger.

"Killing an Autobot is not an accident, Breakdown," the voice snarled darkly, "and you have to  _pay_ for your transgressions against Cybertron."

The voice cut out with a emotionless laugh and, without the sound of the voice echoing through the room, Breakdown could hear only silence. But that silence soon began to thrum with the echo of saws, the whirl of drills and, worst of all, the cold, analytical, emotionless voice of Silas. Silas's voice soon drowned out all other noise, burrowing its way into his processor like a sword through air.

Breakdown shuddered, back pressing against the wall, servos clutching at his helm-

_The saw cut through his chest plate, fiery sparks erupting from the blade as it drove through metal._

_He could hear everything but there was a blackness on his entire right side-_

_And he could feel_ none  _of it. Not the blade tearing through his chest plate or the drills piercing through his chassis with discomforting ease-_

"No," Breakdown gasped, "please, stop.  _Please_."

But Breakdown's words fell on silent air and, as the sound of Silas's voice, the machinery and his memories began to overwhelm the mech, Breakdown curled against the wall and fell victim to his treacherous mind.

* * *

" _I was able to glean a wealth of information from Breakdown's memory files. Some of it is quite_ interesting _, to say the least."_

" _Such as what, Iceblaze?"_

" _Aside from the fact that he really_ was  _experimented on by humans? Well, apparently this Decepticon worked with Optimus Prime and his Autobots back on Earth for at least a least an Earth year-"_

" _What? That makes no sense! Why would the Autobots work with_ him _?"_

" _I gather it was a deal between Breakdown and the Autobots. Other than that, I'm really not sure, Metalflash."_

The soft drone of voices woke Breakdown, his optic openly slowly to blurred vision. As his optic adjusted and his vision became clear, Breakdown turned his helm towards the voices subtly.

Two mechs, one jet black with long wings protruding from her frame, the other an orange and green bruiser, were talking only a few pedelengths away from Breakdown. Breakdown stayed still, optic narrowing as he listened in to the remainder of the two mechs conversation.

"Well, Iceblaze, whatever reason does not matter. What  _does_ matter is how we can use this information. The leaders will not trust Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus when they worked with a Decepticon," the bruiser - _Metalflash?_ \- said, servo scratching at the underside of his faceplate.

The winged mech, Iceblaze, looked doubtful but gave a convincing nod to Metalflash. "Whatever you say, Metalflash. I don't really care either way so long as I get the chance to experiment on him."

"Of course, of course," Metalflash said distantly, "but no one can know that we have Breakdown."

Iceblaze glared at Metalflash, optics rolling as she turned to look at Breakdown. "He will be quite a fun experiment-"

The rest of Iceblaze's sentence was cut off by a door being slammed open and a snarl from an engine.

"Let him go, Metalflash," a voice Breakdown could faintly recognize warned.

Metalflash backed away, Iceblaze copying his movements as an Autobot appeared in Breakdown's vision. It was Arcee, one servo gun pointed at Metalflash as she turned her gaze to Breakdown.

"You know the law, Metalflash. All reports of violent acts must be reported to the Cybertron Police,  _especially_ when it is a case with a Decepticon," Arcee growled as she shifted closer to Breakdown, guns still aimed at Metalflash.

Metalflash ducked his helm away from Arcee's scathing gaze, a rumble of displeasure escaping his engine. "I understand,  _Arcee_."

Arcee narrowed her optics but seemed to believe Metalflash for, with a nod of her helm, she turned her back on Metalflash. Her optics peered down at Breakdown, a slight scowl curving down her faceplate as she gazed over his chassis.

Breakdown turned away from her scrutinizing gaze, optic turning to Metalflash in time to see the Autobot pull out a large energon cannon and aim it at Arcee-

Breakdown reacted without thinking, smacking Arcee to the ground with a hard hit from one servo and then activated his shoulder cannon. Breakdown and Metalflash fired at the same time, the shot from Metalflash's cannon tearing through Breakdown's side, while Breakdown's shot hit Metalflash in the helm.

Metalflash stumbled backwards, Iceblaze catching him as he fell, and Breakdown snarled at the two Autobots. Iceblaze and Metalflash shared an unreadable look and then bolted from the room, leaving Breakdown and Arcee behind.

Arcee leapt to her pedes, shooting Breakdown a furious yet thankful glare. "Follow me," she growled.

Breakdown willingly followed her, not wanting to be in the ADEG building any longer than he had to. Arcee led him out of the building then transformed into her two-wheeler alt. Breakdown did the same and, with a welcome roar of his engine followed Arcee as she raced away from Ankmor Park.

"How did you find me?" Breakdown asked the femme Autobot when he pulled up beside her.

Arcee grumbled something to herself then vented. "Wheeljack was hunting the radio waves when he heard about a Decepticon attacking an Autobot in Ankmor. We figured it was you, and that the ADEG would have gotten their servos on you. Bumblebee wouldn't let that stand, so he sent me and my backup to find you."

"Backup?"

"Yep," Arcee said, mirror tilting upwards just as a sleek blue and white sports car pulled up beside Breakdown.

"Hello, Breakdown," Smokescreen said in greeting, his tone clipped.

"Smokescreen," Breakdown replied, a sense of unease washing over him at the cold response from Smokescreen.

Titling his mirror towards Arcee, Breakdown watched the two wheeler quietly. She was flanking him on the left, near his back tires, and Breakdown didn't fail to notice the wary way in which she watched him.

He couldn't see Smokescreen, though he could hear the Autobot's engine roaring on his right.

"Where are you leading me?" Breakdown asked the two Autobots quietly.

"To Team Prime's base," Arcee answered, "to await your Iacon Trial tomorrow

."

"Iacon Trial? What are you talking about?" Breakdown asked, unease slowing his tires as he watched Arcee. The two wheeler did not answer him, though she did follow his movement, slowing down as he did.

"The Iacon Trial for any and all Decepticons, be they former or current," Smokescreen explained, "The Parliament will judge you for your crimes against Cybertron."

"But-"

"You can't avoid it any longer, Breakdown," Arcee snapped, "Bumblebee has taken loads of flack for advocating to the Parliament for your absence from the Trials. The leaders allowed it, and only because they respected Bumblebee, but now you won't be able to avoid the Trial any longer."

Breakdown was going to say something in retort to Arcee's frosty words but stopped, only producing a frustrated growl from his engine as he continued to follow Arcee and Smokescreen further and further from his home.

* * *

Breakdown and the two Autobots finally stopped after five  _groons_ of hard travel, the two Autobots pulling up to a massive building, colored white and with the Autobot insignia superimposed on the front of the building. Breakdown stared at the building for awhile then noticed Arcee and Smokescreen, both out of their alt modes, waiting and watching him. Breakdown vented and transformed out of his alt mode, walking up to the two Autobots.

"Follow," Arcee ordered, whipping around and stomping into the building. Smokescreen looked at Breakdown briefly then, with a shrug of his shoulderplates, followed after Arcee. Breakdown vented and followed after both Autobots, optic shifting around his surroundings as Breakdown walked into the building.

Inside the building it was quiet, the walls white and without decorations, leaving no feeling of personality to Team Prime's base. Arcee turned down a corridor and pointed to a large set of closed doors, marked with a simple symbol of Energon.

"That is where we refuel," Arcee explained, turning to point out another set of doors, a bit smaller than the previous, "and that is the medical bay. You have to get checked up there. Part of the Trial rules."

Breakdown stared at Arcee, optic narrowing when she gave him a glare and pointed towards the medical bay again.

"Get in there, Breakdown. Smokescreen and I will be back in a  _groon_. Until then, you have to undergo the required check up," Arcee snapped, frustration hardening her stance as she glowered at Breakdown.

Breakdown rolled his optic then gave Arcee an exaggerated nod, "As you wish, Arcee."

Arcee nodded and, with a signal to Smokescreen, the two left Breakdown standing in the hallway alone. Breakdown looked at the medical bay doors and let out a long vent as he walked up to the doors and knocked on the doors.

"Yes, who is it?" A voice snapped from the other side of the doors, "I am not accepting anyone else! I'm tired of doing  _everything_ for you! I  _need_ to buff myself!"

"Knock Out?" Breakdown gasped as he quickly recognized the grouchy tone and high voice of his former ally.

The medical bay doors slammed open and, standing before Breakdown with a stunned expression, was Knock Out. Knock Out's chassis was dull and his red optics faded, but Breakdown didn't miss the pleased smile that crossed over the medic's faceplate.

"Breakdown, I- I'm happy to see you again," Knock Out admitted, "but what are you doing here?"

"Apparently I am being subjected to something called the Iacon Trials tomorrow. Arcee said I need a medical check up before the Trail, so here I am," Breakdown explained.

Knock Out stared at him wordlessly, then urged Breakdown into the medical bay. "Sit down," Knock Out said, pointing to an empty operating slab.

Breakdown moved over to the slab, sitting down with a puff of his vents and an irritated rumble of his engine. Knock Out walked over to Breakdown with a scanner on his servo, waving the scanner over Breakdown's chassis with full concentration. The scanner let out a few beeps then fell silent as Knock Out pulled the scanner away from Breakdown.

"Scan came out fine, Breakdown, though it did pick up high stress points at your hip and leg connectors," Knock Out said, giving Breakdown a querying gaze as he pointed towards Breakdown's legs with one servo. "What happened?"

Breakdown cast a glance towards his legs, the legs he had repaired numerous times after Starscream's missiles had blown them apart, and shrugged. "Doesn't really matter."

Knock Out gave Breakdown a doubtful look and then, with an exvent of steam from his vents, strode away from Breakdown. The red medic glanced over a large storage shelf and then let out a happy 'aha' before he turned back to Breakdown.

"I can fix you, Breakdown, you know that right?" Knock Out asked, "I can give you real, sturdy legs,  _and_ I can fix your optic."

"No, Knock Out," Breakdown snapped, "I don't want you to  _fix_ me, least of all giving me a new optic."

"Breakdown," Knock Out urged, "if you aren't going to let me replace your optic, at least allow me to work on your legs."

Breakdown vented and relented with a roll of his optic. "Fine."

"Ok, then I'll have to put you into recharge," Knock Out began to explain, drawing an irritated huff from Breakdown.

"I know the procedures, Knock Out, just get to it already," Breakdown growled, cutting off anything else Knock Out was going to say.

"Very well," Knock Out vented as he moved up beside Breakdown and began the process to send Breakdown into forced recharge. Breakdown watched Knock Out work with scathing scrutiny, optic shuttering closed as he fell into recharge.

* * *

A light tapping on Breakdown's helm woke him, optic opening slowly to the red optics of Knock Out.

"Ah, you are awake!" Knock Out said beside Breakdown, drawing Breakdown's gaze to the red mech. Knock Out looked pleased with himself, not that that was anything new, but Knock Out also seemed worried as he glanced over Breakdown's chassis.

"You might be unsteady on your new legs for a bit, but that won't last too long. Why don't you check them out?" Knock Out offered, a hopeful smile arching across his faceplate.

Breakdown rolled his optic in response but propped himself up, gaze turning to his new legs. Knock Out had done an excellent job and had even replicated Breakdown's new legs to look almost exactly like his original ones. Breakdown strode to his pedes, noting how he felt no pain where Knock Out had operated and that he felt steady on his new legs.

"Thank you, Knock Out," Breakdown said sincerely, his thanks earning a nod from Knock Out.

"You are welcome, Breakdown," Knock Out said, red optics light with happiness as he watched Breakdown test out his new legs. "They work well, right?"

Breakdown nodded then turned to look around the medical bay for a moment. "Where's Ratchet?"

"He left months ago. He split just a day or two after that celebration you skipped out on. I've been swamped with work ever since my Iacon Trial."

"You had to go through these Iacon Trials too?"

"Yes. All Decepticons that are caught, or well known, have to endure the Trials. Luckily, I was let off with just a  _vorn_ of medical service under the Parliament rules," Knock Out grumbled moodily, "but it still stinks either way. I didn't side with the Autobots to become their slave once Cybertron got its government."

A knock on the medical bay doors turned Breakdown and Knock Out's attention towards the door and, with a sigh, Knock Out barked for whoever to come in. A few nanoseconds later, Arcee and Smokescreen walked through the doors, a stern expression on Arcee's faceplate while Smokescreen just looked bored.

"You done with Breakdown, Knock Out?" Arcee asked, her tone clipped as she looked over at the red medic.

"Of course I am, Your Majesty," Knock Out quipped sarcastically, bowing exaggeratedly towards Arcee. Arcee rolled her optics and walked away, Smokescreen giving Knock Out an apologetic shrug as he signaled for Breakdown.

"Thanks for taking care of him, Doc," Smokescreen said, "You know how the Parliament  _hates_ the idea of Decepticon  _filth_ getting anywhere near them."

"Oh, I  _do_ ," Knock Out laughed, "and I have a feeling that Torrent  _especially_ hates 'Decepticon filth' now."

Smokescreen let out a choked laugh then nodded, a smile brimming across his faceplate. "He's still angry about our little 'gift', Knock Out. It's  _great_."

Both Smokescreen and Knock Out laughed for a bit longer and then, with a roll of his optics, Smokescreen turned to leave, Breakdown following behind the Autobot diligently. Before he left entirely, Breakdown glanced back at Knock Out, noticing how the medic's optics fell as his smile vanished as Breakdown and Smokescreen left.

* * *

"Subject: Breakdown. Affiliation: Decepticon."

Breakdown glared up at the ring of Cybertronians staring down at him, almost all looking down upon him with disgust. He had only just arrived for the Iacon Trials and had been ushered into a bowl-like room where the leaders of Cybertron's Parliament glared down at him.

He had spotted Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee and Predaking amongst the attending Cybertronians, but Breakdown's focus was on a towering Autobot, colored in gold with white biolights.

His name was Radiance and he was the leader of the Parliament, elected by the population of Cybertron - well, mainly the Autobot population. Breakdown knew very little about Radiance and, the one thing Breakdown did know, was that Radiance  _hated_ Decepticons. Breakdown already could guess how his trial would go with Radiance at the head of the decision.

Radiance looked down at Breakdown disdainfully, arms crossed over his chest plate as he let out a rumble of disgust from his engine. "Do you know why you are here, Decepticon?"

"Yes," Breakdown snarled, "I am here to be tried for war crimes."

"Well," Radiance scoffed, "You might actually have some intelligence after all. Surprising, as you don't like like the smart type."

Breakdown glowered at Radiance, chassis itching to smash the smug expression off of the Autobot's faceplate, but he willed himself to stand stock still.

"Since you know why you are here,  _Decepticon_ , why didn't we get right on with your trial," Radiance yawned exaggeratedly, turning to a small femme Autobot sitting beside him, optics locked onto the datapad in her servo. "You may begin, Lunarshift."

The femme looked up from her datapad, her silver-blue optics narrowing on Breakdown. She flicked her servo over the datapad for a brief moment then paused, optics scanning the datapad for a moment before she looked back down at Breakdown.

"Breakdown of the Decepticons, you have been called in today for your Iacon Trial. Do you agree to speak the truth while in this room, and  _only_ the truth?"

"Yes, I do," Breakdown said, politeness edging into his tone as he bit back the anger snapping through his spark.

Lunarshift nodded slowly at his agreement, then looked over at Radiance, who had been filing his digits in disinterest, and nodded to the Parliament leader. Radiance smiled then, with a greatly exaggerated sweep of his servos, indicated around the room of other Parliament members, stopping on Breakdown.

"Parliament, this Decepticon standing before us today served under Megatron for eons. But he no ordinary Decepticon, from the intelligence we have gathered on him," Radiance paused to give a shifty glare towards Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus before continuing with his speech, "and I think it is right that he explains everything to those of us gathered here. Is that understood, Breakdown?"

Breakdown glared at Radiance, the Autobot's sarcastic, hateful tone digging under his chassis with ease. "Whatever."

Radiance narrowed his optics at Breakdown's blithe tone but forged on. "Then grace us with your tales of evil. It helps in the process of your trial."

"Well, you all know I was a Decepticon, so what point is there in saying anything else?" Breakdown snapped, his change in tone drawing noises of disgust and 'scum' from the Parliament members. Breakdown glowered at those Autobots, his stare causing one to flinch backwards significantly.

Radiance let out an annoyed growl and silenced the Parliament with a snarl from his engine. The Autobot glared down at Breakdown, hate burning in his optics as he growled, "If you wish to make the trial difficult then so be it, Decepticon. I will give you one chance to tell us your backstory. If you refuse, you will suffer the wrath of the Parliament."

Breakdown scoffed, about to tell Radiance to off himself when he caught Bumblebee shaking his helm at him, optics wide. Breakdown glared at Bumblebee but decided against being rash and instead gave a mocking bow to Radiance and the rest of Parliament.

"Since you wish to hear my story, I will tell you," Breakdown said.

"In the beginning of the war, I worked with the Wreckers, an  _Autobot_ organization." Breakdown noted the looks of shock passed between all of the Parliament members, even Radiance looked surprised.

"I was one of the first Wreckers, and I served with them for many  _vorns_  during the war. I had thought of joining the Decepticons until one day when a Wrecker raid fell to pieces. My unit was bombarded by Decepticon forces. I was injured severely in the battle and, eventually, abandoned by my unit. I was picked up by a unit of Decepticon Seekers and brought to a Decepticon medical area. The Decepticon medic saved my life and, seeking revenge for being abandoned, I led Megatron and his army to the base of the Wreckers. Megatro's army destroyed the base and killed nine Wreckers and, with the success of the attack, I was invited to join the Decepticons.

"I agreed to Megatron's offer and served out the remainder of the war on Cybertron as a Decepticon. After Cybertron was abandoned, I fled and eventually crash landed on the planet Earth. I met up with another Decepticon, named Knock Out, there and traveled the planet for awhile, until Starscream called Knock Out and I in for support. We arrived the Decepticon warship and served with the Decepticons on Earth for a brief time."

Breakdown paused, that same familiar rush of fear clutching at his spark as thoughts of MECh and Silas swarmed his thoughts.  _No, I cannot allow them to know about that_.

Breakdown shook himself slightly and looked back around the Parliament with his optic narrowing on Radiance. "A few  _orns_ later, I left the Decepticons permanently-"

"Why would you leave the Decepticons?" One Parliament member asked, her optics questioning as he looked down at Breakdown.

"Because I wanted to," Breakdown snapped, "and-"

"What is the  _real_ reason you left?" A different voice snarled, one Breakdown recognized well. His optic turned up to stare at Ultra Magnus, who had his arms crossed over his chest plate and his optics narrow.

Breakdown hesitated, afraid of answering, of telling these Autobots the truth, of his weakness-

" _Tell us_ ," Radiance snarled, the rest of the Parliament members joining in with shouts of agreement. Breakdown stared up at the Cybertronians, fear stuttering through his processor.  _I can't-_

"He was tortured by humans and left for dead by the Decepticons."

Breakdown started at the sound of Bumblebee's voice, helm tilting to the former scout, who was glaring at Radiance and the rest of the Parliament members with fury.

"Ha, humans?" One Parliament member chortled, "Those little fleshies? He let himself be captured by  _fleshies_? How pathetic!"

Breakdown said nothing, helm turning away from the mocking gazes of the Parliament members, most of whom were now laughing at him.

"What kind of Cybertronian, let alone a  _Decepticon_ , would let himself be tortured by humans?"

"A stupid one, that's for sure!"

"Yeah, imagine how lame you must feel to be tortured by humans-"

"I was tortured by humans also!" Bumblebee screeched, servo smashing into the railing of the Parliament seating area, his shout shutting up the rest of the Parliament. Bumblebee glowered at every member and then let out a savage, emotionless laugh.

"None of you know anything about the humans who tortured Breakdown and I. They were vicious, cruel and remarkably resilient and intelligent. They took Breakdown's optic and did things even I don't know about to him and they ripped my T-cog from me. So, shut  _up_."

Bumblebee let out a snort and then sat down with a purposeful glare shot towards Radiance and the Parliament. Breakdown stared at Bumblebee in shock, unable to recognize the once timid and quiet scout Bumblebee had once been.

"We did not know this about you, Bumblebee," Radiance said quietly, "and all of us apologize."

"Don't apologize to me, Radiance, and don't even think about apologizing to Breakdown. Neither of us want your pathetic sympathy," Bumblebee snapped.

"Ah, yes, very well," Radiance gulped, looking away from Bumblebee hurriedly and turned his attention back to Breakdown. "Continue your story please."

Breakdown rolled his optic and, with a tired exvent, continued. "After I was tortured and left for dead by Megatron and his Decepticons I began to doubt the faction I had joined. The Decepticons had changed so much idealistically from when I first joined that, by that time, I was disenfranchised with being one. I left one day and decided to never look back.

"I was haunted by the humans who tortured me and, I called Optimus Prime's team for help. They came and offered amnesty and shelter to me. I decided to stay with Prime's Autobots and I did until Cybertron's revival-"

"Wait, are you saying you were part of Team Prime?" Lunarshift interrupted, her optics wide as she turned to stare at Radiance. Radiance looked as shocked as Lunarshift, though the Parliament leader tried to hide his shock.

"Yes, that is what I am trying to get across to you. I never became an Autobot, never will, but I helped Optimus Prime and his team for nearly an entire year," Breakdown growled, "and if you doubt me, ask Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus."

Every optic in the room turned to Ultra Magnus and Bumblebee, the latter of the two still fuming, as Ultra Magnus strode to his pedes.

"I was not part of Optimus Prime's team for long but I do attest to the fact that Breakdown was part of the team. He helped many times and was part of the siege on the  _Nemesis_ that led to our planet being revived," Ultra Magnus said, his voice traveling over the quiet room.

Radiance opened his mouth to say something but stopped and, with a defeated sigh, plopped down into his chair once more, a frown etched across his faceplate.

"If Breakdown served with Optimus Prime and his team then what do we do, Radiance?" A Parliament member asked, "We can't justify smelting him and, I don't think it is right to subject him to severe punishment, sir."

"I propose that Breakdown be relegated to a half  _vorn_ of service," Ultra Magnus interrupted, "to Wheeljack and Bulkhead's New Wreckers. He can be monitored by Wheeljack and Bulkhead  _and_ do good for our planet."

"I agree with Ultra Magnus's decision," Predaking finally spoke, the enormous Predacon sending a meaningful glare to Radiance.

"Me too."

"I agree with Ultra Magnus."

"What about the Autobot he killed?" A Parliament member suddenly interrupted, "Are we all going to ignore the fact that Breakdown killed an innocent Cybertronian?"

"Has anyone asked him  _why_ he did," Bumblebee snapped, "or are we all just going to be happy accusing him without getting his reason?"

"It was an accident," Breakdown suddenly snapped, "and, if you want to look at the reason, look at the monitors of Ankmor Park and you will see how the Autobots, including this Echoglass, They mobbed me and, I acted out of instinct and  _accidentally_ shot her."

"And accident that concluded in a death," the same Parliament member snipped, tone mocking as she glared down at Breakdown.

"Yes," Breakdown snarled, "because accidents have  _never_ happened and, if it had been a  _Decepticon_ killed, you all wouldn't even care. You are bothered only because Echoglass happened to be an Autobot."

"That is not true! We care equally about the Autobots and Decepticons-"

"Don't make me laugh! If you cared  _so_ much about the Decepticons then why," Breakdown roared, "would you have allowed for the Anti-Decepticon Enforcement Group to be formed? Why would you been having these trials for  _Decepticons_ only? None of you care about Decepticons, you hate them and lord over the fact that it was a group of  _Autobots_ who revived the planet."

The Parliament member opened her mouth to retort but Breakdown interrupted her before she could.

"And, before any of you try and argue against what I say,  _think_ about what you are all doing. This government is blindly letting Decepticons be tortured, even doing it themselves, and all because of the fact that we had a war and our sides were enemies. You are letting Cybertron become the exact same way it was before Megatron revolted."

Breakdown snarled at the gathered Cybertronians and turned away from them, rage simmering in his spark as he listened to the stunned silence from the Parliament.

"So, what is the decision?" Bumblebee asked, his voice edged with as much fury as Breakdown was feeling.

"I say that we do as Ultra Magnus suggested and make Breakdown serve with the New Wreckers as a community service to all of Cybertron," a Parliament member, one who had not spoke before, said, her gaze turning to Breakdown slowly.

"I believe that is only right," Lunarshift agreed, "What do you say, Radiance?"

Radiance hesitated, shooting Breakdown a hateful glance that Breakdown did not fail to miss, and then let out a relenting sigh.

"If it is what the Parliament agrees on, then fine. Breakdown, from here on, you will be assigned to the service of working alongside Wheeljack and Bulkhead in creating, maintaining, and training the recruits of their New Wreckers unit for the next half- _vorn_."


	30. Epilogue (Part 2)

_Two Years ACR…_

"For Primus's sake, Savageblitz, pay attention!" Wheeljack roared at Savageblitz, a Vehicon flyer, the Vehicon flinching away from Wheeljack's fury.

"Sorry, Wheeljack, sir!" Savageblitz apologized as he landed in front of Wheeljack and Breakdown, wing kibble sagging as he bowed his head in disappointment. "I just can't maneuver that well when I'm tired-"

"Do  _not_ makes excuses to me, Savageblitz!" Wheeljack snarled, "We have gone over this many times. iF you want to be part of the Wreckers team, you have to be able to overcome that which you fear  _and_ that which hinders you. So far, you have failed to do either. Get back to Headquarters."

Savageblitz stuttered in response then let out a vent, "Sorry, Wheeljack." Without waiting for Wheeljack's response, Savageblitz transformed into his alt and shot away from Wheeljack and Breakdown.

Breakdown turned to Wheeljack, optic ridge raising slightly. Wheeljack noticed and waved Breakdown's scrutinizing look away.

"You know he needs lots of yelling at to get stuff through his processor," Wheeljack grumbled, arms crossing over his chest plate with an exaggerated huff of his vents.

"Whatever you say, Wheeljack," Breakdown laughed, his laugh deepening as Wheeljack shot him an affronted look.

"Whose side are you on, Breaky? Mine, or  _that_ brat's?" Wheeljack complained, though the light spark to his blue optics showed that the white Wrecker was barely holding back his own laughter.

"Not going to answer that, Wheeljack," Breakdown said coyly, "Well, since we are done training the recruits for today, why don't we head back to Headquarters? Bulkhead's most likely crying over Miko again and we will have to comfort him."

"Great," Wheeljack groaned, "just what we need.  _Another_ night of 'I shouldn't have left her behind boohoo'!"

Breakdown snorted with mirth at Wheeljack's imitation of Bulkhead, Wheeljack joining in with his own raucous laughter as the two transformed into their alt modes and headed towards the Wrecker headquarters.

"'Oh, Wheeljack, we have to go back to Earth! I need to make sure she's okay!'" Breakdown said, mimicking Bulkhead's voice with a light chuckle.

"Okay, as much as we tease Bulkhead, I too miss Miko," Wheeljack admitted, his tone turning serious, "I sometimes wish I could go back to Earth, if only for a short time, so I could see her, and Ratchet, again."

Breakdown looked over at Wheeljack, surprised by his admission. "I wish I could talk with Ratchet once more but, with the Parliament banning all travel or communications through Space Bridges, there is no possibility."

Wheeljack snarled beside Breakdown, tires grinding into the road as his chassis sunk closer to the ground in anger. "I hate the Parliament. Condescending, fragged Autobots too busy with making sure they stay in power than taking care of our home."

"That was the the exact reason the Decepticon rebellion began," Breakdown muttered quietly.

Wheeljack's mirrors twisted towards Breakdown, shock rippling off his chassis as he slowed beside Breakdown. "You aren't suggesting-"

"No, Wheeljack," Breakdown growled, "I am just noting how nothing has changed. Our war started because of disagreements about the government and, its just the same now as it was before the war."

Wheeljack said nothing in response, though Breakdown heard him mutter something under his breath, to quiet for Breakdown to understand. Breakdown didn't bother asking Wheeljack what was wrong and soon silence fell between the two Wreckers.

Nothing much of note had transpired in the fifteen months since Breakdown had been assigned to Wheeljack and Bulkhead's New Wreckers team. Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead had begun training any volunteers that applied to the New Wreckers program, a process that took six months to complete and included combat training, Cybertron's protection detail and more. Savageblitz, was part of the second class of recruits, a class that consisted of twelve recruits, who were all near the end of their time training with the Wreckers.

Breakdown had quickly become known by the Wrecker recruits as the toughest of the three teachers - being Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead - to impress. He trained the recruits to exhaustion and treated them with something close to disdain, but Breakdown did that purposefully. He believed that treating the recruits as he did would build their confidence and self-reliance. There was no excuse for any self-respecting mech  _not_ to be able to take care of themselves.

While all three of the original Wreckers shared training duties, including battle techniques, all three had begun to teach specific skillsets to all of their recruits. Bulkhead taught the recruits construction and the even further battle training, Wheeljack taught all of the recruits engineering and Breakdown taught the basics of medical care.

The first class of recruits, a relatively small group of only five, had been a learning experience for Breakdown and the others though, with each month that passed, Breakdown had noticed how much more seamless he, Wheeljack and Bulkhead were becoming at teaching the recruits. Breakdown had been glad though when the first five recruits had been designated to different posts around Cybertron.

Breakdown heard Wheeljack's engine quiet beside him, drawing Breakdown from his thoughts as the two reached the new Wreckers compound. Bulkhead and Wheeljack had found one of the largest buildings in Iacon for the Wrecker's base and had summarily designed it to be as practical as possible for the training of new recruits. There were rooms made specifically to replicate battle scenarios, and even a vast room for the recruits to have peace and quiet - that room was one that Breakdown also tended to sneak into in the most at night.

Wheeljack slowed and transformed out of his alt mode, Breakdown following suit as the two entered the Wreckers headquarters. Inside, the building was a toneless gray, though it was lit sufficiently by biolamps down every hallway.

"Let's report to Bulkhead," Wheeljack said as he began heading up the stairs towards the top level of the building. Breakdown followed behind Wheeljack quietly, optic shuttering with exhaustion as he continued to follow Wheeljack. Wheeljack noticed Breakdown's yawn and gave him a hard nudge in the side with his elbow.

"Stay awake, Breakdown. I don't want to suffer a meeting with Bulkhead alone either," Wheeljack said, tone light as Wheeljack turned down a corridor away from the stairs. Breakdown moved alongside Wheeljack, both stopping at a door marked with a green Autobot insignia.

"Bulkhead, we're back," Wheeljack called as he rapped his servo against the door. No answer came for the next klick, Wheeljack shooting Breakdown a wary glance as he called Bulkhead's name again and, once again, no answer came.

Wheeljack transformed his left servo into its gun alt as he slowly pushed open the door to Bulkhead's office. Breakdown peered over Wheeljack's shoulder as the white Wrecker moved into the office space slowly. Bulkhead's office was dark, and-

"Hey guys!" Bulkhead's cheery voice, coming from behind Breakdown and Wheeljack, startled both around, Breakdown instinctively activated his shoulder cannon as he whirled around. Bulkhead immediately leapt back, servos raising as Breakdown and Wheeljack glared at him.

"Easy, Jackie, Breakdown, its just me, just Bulkhead," Bulkhead said as he stared down both Breakdown and Wheeljack. Wheeljack looked over at Breakdown and transformed his gun back into a servo as Breakdown deactivated his shoulder cannon.

"Don't ever do that again, Bulkhead!" Wheeljack snapped, "You worried me!"

Bulkhead looked away guiltily, servo rubbing at his helm as Wheeljack glowered at the green mech angrily.

"Sorry, Jackie. I was just talking with them," here Bulkhead pointed behind him to where Arcee and Smokescreen were standing, "and I forgot you two would be coming back soon."

Breakdown narrowed his optic at Arcee and Smokescreen, signaling towards them with his servo, "Why are  _they_ here?"

"Uh," Bulkhead stammered, optics snapping to the two Autobots behind him before turning his gaze back to Breakdown and Wheeljack, "they came to check in on us, and our recruits."

"Well, we are fine, and so are our recruits," Wheeljack grumbled, optics rolling as he he looked towards Arcee and Smokescreen.

Arcee turned her gaze to Wheeljack and gave him a slight nod, "That is good to hear. But we are not just here to check in on you three. We know that your second class of recruits are nearly done with their training and have been sent to select recruits from this class to become Elite Guards for Cybertron's leaders."

"But, we already have designations for all of our recruits," Breakdown said, "You can't just take them for the Elite Guard!"

Arcee shot Breakdown an apologetic look as she gave him a shrug of her shoulder plates, "I'm sorry, but we have been authorized to take five recruits we see fit for the duty as Elite Guards. We have to do this, by order of the Parliament."

Breakdown snarled at the mention of the Parliament, a sharp jab in his side from Wheeljack cutting the snarl short. Arcee glanced at Breakdown at his snarl, optics warning as she turned her attention back to Bulkhead.

"We will stay the night here at your headquarters and, tomorrow, we will select the five recruits who will become Elite Guards," Arcee explained, Smokescreen nodding slowly beside her.

Bulkhead shot a questioning glance to Breakdown and Wheeljack, optics dark with worry, then turned back to Arcee and Smokescreen. "Arcee, uh, why don't you follow me? I'll show you a room, you and Smokescreen can use temporarily."

"Thank you, Bulkhead," Arcee said. Bulkhead nodded to her and turned away, Arcee watched as Bulked walked down the hallway and then followed after the green Wrecker. Smokescreen stared after her for a bit, shooting an apologetic look to Breakdown and Wheeljack as he ran after Bulkhead and Arcee.

The moment all three had disappeared down the hallway, Wheeljack smashed his servo into the hallway door and let out a deep snarl from his engine. "The damned Parliament thinks they just step over everything we do. Our recruits are not available for them to just take away because they think they can!"

"What are we going to tell the sponsors who have already applied for our recruits services?" Breakdown grumbled, "Are we going to say 'oh hey, you know how you paid for services of the Wrecker recruits? Yeah, well, sorry, your recruit was taken by the Parliament! Haha, whoops!'"

Wheeljack said nothing in response, his optics narrowing after the vanished forms of Arcee and Smokescreen. His chassis was rigid with fury, arms crossed over his chest plate as he shook himself and, with one last glance towards Breakdown, stomped away.

Breakdown watched after Wheeljack, glanced down the hallway after Bulkhead then, he too, walked off towards his quarters.

* * *

" _Breakdown, you up?"_ The sound of Wheeljack's voice cracking over Breakdown's comms snapped Breakdown out of his recharge. Breakdown scrambled out of his berth, letting out a yelp of surprise as he snapped to his pedes, optic snapping around his quarters in surprise.

" _Uh, Breakdown? You alright?"_ Wheeljack asked, concern edging through his words.

"Yes, I'm fine," Breakdown breathed, "you just woke me from recharge."

" _Oh,"_ Wheeljack laughed, " _sorry about that, but you should get out to the main hall quick. Arcee and Smokescreen want to observe our recruits in battle so they can pick out five for the Elite Guard."_

Breakdown groaned his displeasure, "Great. I'll be done there in a moment."

" _See you in a bit, Breakdown,"_ Wheeljack said as he cut off the comms between Breakdown and himself.

Breakdown rolled his shoulder plates in a stretch and walked out of his quarters. Breakdown headed towards the stairwell, hurrying down the stairs as quickly as he could. Once he reached the ground floor, Breakdown ran to the main hall, skidding to a stop at the doors.

Breakdown pushed open the doors slowly, peering into the room, optic narrowing on the scene before him.

Arcee and Smokescreen were standing next to Bulkhead and Wheeljack, all four looking at the group of twelve recruits. Breakdown walked into the room and stopped beside Wheeljack, sharing a glance with the white Wrecker.

Arcee stepped forward, optics scanning over the twelve recruits. "I am Arcee of Team Prime, I, and my fellow officer Smokescreen, am here to oversee your last days of training."

"Why?" One recruit, a lilac and yellow former Decepticon flyer named Ironblade asked, her red optics narrowing on Arcee.

"Yeah," another recruit, a light brown and blue Autobot grounder named Skysnarl, snapped, "we haven't had anyone observe us before, so why now?"

"Because Parliament wants to know about the Wrecker recruit program's progress," Arcee explained, "Since Smokescreen and I will be with you for the next few days, why don't you all introduce yourselves?"

All twelve recruits shared glances between each other before looking over at Arcee and Smokescreen.

Ironblade and Skysnarl introduced themselves first, their voices clipped and unfriendly as they glared at Arcee.

The next recruit to speak up was Savageblitz and the only other Vehicons in the group, Speedkick, both purple mechs nodding respectfully to Arcee and Smokescreen.

The next two were Autobot spark siblings, named Halfcloud and Cloudblade. Both were flyers and always spoke in tune with each other. Arcee raised an optic ridge at their simultaneous speech, vents huffing as the two pale colored Autobots backed away into the line of recruits.

The next was a former Decepticon flyer, pitch black in color. He introduced himself as Flightlock, and Breakdown could hear the hate in Flightlock's voice as he glared at Arcee.

Spinout, Flamesplitter, and Crossbolt stepped up next, all three Autobots quietly introducing themselves before stepping back into the line of recruits.

The last two to introduce themselves were both former Decepticon Seekers, named Viperstrike and Furyclaw.

Arcee nodded in thanks to all of the recruits then turned to Breakdown, Bulkhead and Wheeljack, voice quiet as she said, "They seem like a good group, Bulkhead. Now, would you oblige me in showing me what they have learned over their months of training?"

"Oh, uh, of course," Bulkhead stammered as he turned to Wheeljack and Breakdown. "Breakdown, would you be willing to help our recruits in the demonstration of their fighting skills?"

Breakdown shot Bulkhead an irritated glare but relented with a frustrated growl. Breakdown walked forward, optic shifting to Arcee subtly as he approached the Wrecker recruits.

"Flightlock," Breakdown growled, choosing the best fighter of the group, and the one that Breakdown liked the least, urging the former Decepticon forward.

Flightlock stepped out of the line of recruits, optics questioning as he stared at Breakdown. "Yes, Breakd-"

Breakdown lunged for Flightlock, smashing his hammer servo into the former Decepticon's helm. Flightlock stumbled back, servos flinging out sideways as he attempted to steady himself. Breakdown stalked around Flightlock, optic narrowing on Flightlock as the former Decepticon wheeled on him.

Flightlock narrowed his optics at Breakdown, a furious, hateful scowl cutting down his faceplate as Breakdown continued to stalk around the recruit. Flightlock transformed his left servo into its gun alt form as he let out a snarl from his engine and aimed it at Breakdown.

"I don't know what your problem is, Breakdown, but I  _don't_ like being attacked without reason," Flightlock snarled, right servo twitching with anger as his claw-like digits curled into a fist.

Breakdown let out a rumble of mocking laughter, knowing that doing so would irritate Flightlock enough to make the recruit willing to attack him - and Flightlock did exactly that. With a shout of rage, Flightlock leapt towards Breakdown, right servo slashing towards him. Breakdown lunged towards Flightlock, closing the distance between them both quickly.

Flightlock started back as Breakdown smashed into him, clawed servo bouncing off Breakdown's shoulder plate harmlessly. Flightlock scrambled away from Breakdown, transforming into his flyer alt - an Earth-based jet - and shot away from Breakdown with a roar of his engine.

Breakdown watched the black jet circle above him, listened for the change in Flightlock's engine thrust, waited for the determined snarl that was Flightlock's signature-

_There._

Flightlock shot towards Breakdown with immense speed, wings titling to the left slightly-

Breakdown leapt to the right at the same time as Flightlock jerked right. Breakdown swung his hammer into Flightlock before the recruit could react, the sudden, hard punch causing Flightlock to transform out of his alt form and crash to the ground. Flightlock attempted to scramble to his pedes but, with a heavy thud of metal clashing against metal, Breakdown stomped his right pedes against Flightlock's backstrut.

Flightlock glowered up at Breakdown, anger burning in his red optics as he let out a vent of frustration. Breakdown, still with his pedes on Flightlock's backstrut, turned his gaze towards Arcee and Smokescreen, noting Arcee's bemused look and how Smokescreen avoided his gaze.

"All of our recruits are excellent fighters," Bulkhead explained to Arcee, "and disciplined. Their sponsors will be quite satisfied with  _each_ recruit."

"Good to hear," Arcee said, "why don't you show me-"

Breakdown suddenly felt Flightlock move under him, snapping Breakdown's attention away from Arcee and the others and back to Flightlock. Just as Breakdown's gaze fell to the recruit, Flightlock lunged upwards, both servos slashing up into Breakdown's helm.

Breakdown stumbled back with a shout of pain, servo clutching at his helm as Energon pooled over his remaining optic, blinding him completely. Breakdown attempted to wipe the Energon from his optic desperately, when he suddenly felt hard steel ram into his helm.

"Flightlock!" Wheeljack snapped furiously, "Lower your gun!"

Breakdown felt Flightlock hesitate for a moment, his gun wavering for a moment against Breakdown's helm, before Flightlock suddenly let out a snarl from his engine.

"No! I am tired of working everyday for Autobots! I am  _done_!" Flightlock screeched, voice hitching with a hysterical whine as he thrust his gun even harder against Breakdown's helm.

Breakdown growled at Flightlock tensely, optic narrowing slightly as brief glimpses of vision returned. Flightlock had his side turned to Breakdown, left servo shoved against his helm in its gun alt while he glowered over at Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Arcee and Smokescreen.

"Easy, Flightlock," Bulkhead said nervously, "just lower your gun. You're stressed, that's all."

"I am not  _stressed_!" Flightlock screeched. Breakdown recognized the sound of a gun heating up - a quiet, rushing roar, almost like a wildfire - as Flightlock continued to shout at Bulkhead and the others.

Breakdown acted without thinking, ducking and ramming his servos into Flightlock's chest just as Flightlock's gun fired. Breakdown bit back a snarl of pain as red-hot pain scorched across his helm, the pain only driving Breakdown to smash his servos into Flightlock's chest again.

Flightlock scrambled backwards from the force of Breakdown's attack, optics snapping towards Breakdown as he wheeled fully on him. Breakdown kicked Flightlock to the ground, stomped his pede on his chest and activated his shoulder cannon, aiming the cannon directly at Flightlock's helm.

"Stay down Flightlock," Breakdown warned, earning a hateful glare from the recruit. Breakdown narrowed his optic, which was still blurred from Energon, and gave Flightlock another warning snarl from his engine.

"Rot in the Pit, traitor," Flightlock hissed, his words meant only for Breakdown by snapping at him in the language of the Decepticons.

Breakdown flinched slightly at Flightlock's words, then stomped his pede against Flightlock's chest plate, a snarl rattling the entirety of his chassis. He said nothing in response to Flightlock's words, if only because he did not want the former Decepticon to know how much his words had gotten to Breakdown.

The brush of metal against Breakdown's shoulder plate snapped his gaze to his left where Wheeljack had walked up beside him. Wheeljack crossed his arms over his chest plate and glared down at Flightlock with a disappointed scowl.

Flightlock glared at both Breakdown and Wheeljack then, with an irritated vent, transformed his guns back into servos. When he did, Wheeljack bent down and glared into Flightlock's optics. Breakdown lifted his pede off of Flightlock's chest plate, though he kept his shoulder cannon trained on the former Decepticon.

"Attacking Breakdown means you are out of here, Flightlock," Wheeljack snapped as he yanked Flightlock to his pedes. Flightlock tried to shake Wheeljack off but a threatening snarl from the Wrecker stopped Flightlock from trying to escape Wheeljack's grip.

Wheeljack drug Flightlock out of the main hall, leaving Breakdown, Bulkhead, Arcee, Smokescreen and the remaining recruits behind. The moment Wheeljack and Flightlock were gone, Bulkhead hurried over to Breakdown.

"You okay?" Bulkhead asked, concernedly reaching for Breakdown. Breakdown snarled at Bulkhead then stumbled away, brushing past Arcee and Smokescreen.

* * *

Breakdown sat in his quarters silently, optic scanning over the datapad in his servo. He flicked through the numerous articles of news, pausing only once at an article that had a picture of Earth and was titled " _Earth: The Story of Team Prime and how They Revived Cybertron"_. Curious, Breakdown clicked the article to read it when the sound of arguing outside his quarters drew his attention to his door.

Breakdown slowly got to his pedes, placing the datapad on his berth as he slowly, quietly walked to his door.

"Radiance just sent me a new message. He likes what we reported on the Wrecker recruits and, now, he wants seven of the recruits instead of five." Breakdown could tell that was Arcee, so he automatically assumed that she was talking to Smokescreen until he heard a heavy shift of metal and the hesitant voice of Bulkhead.

"I don't know. We have already promised all of our recruits to other sponsors. Five was already to many, but now he wants seven? With Flightlock getting kicked out we are even more pressed for our recruits," Bulkhead said quietly.

"Bulk, I have to take seven, it's been decreed by Parliament. I can't go against their ruling," Arcee said, "I'm sorry."

"Wheeljack and Breakdown are going to be pissed when I tell them," Bulkhead admitted, "I am not looking forward to explaining to them."

"You will have to tell them the truth, Bulkhead. Your recruits have been bought by the Parliament, and the original sponsors will have to wait," Arcee grumbled unhappily.

"Oh, that's really going to make those two happy. Breakdown has made it very obvious to both Wheeljack and I that he hates the Parliament. He does not like the idea of us sending our recruits there and neither does Wheeljack," Bulkhead said, "Wheeljack will not be looking forward to telling eight of our recruits' sponsors that they aren't getting what they paid for."

"I understand," Arcee growled, "I don't really like doing this to you either, but Parliament  _has_ authorized the acquittal of seven of your recruits."

Bulkhead let out a deep vent but said nothing in rebuttal to Arcee's words. After a few moments of silence, Breakdown heard Arcee walk away and then heard Bulkhead vent to himself again.

Breakdown opened his door, the creak of metal hinges startling Bulkhead as Breakdown leaned on his door frame and raised an optic ridge after Arcee's vanishing form.

"So the Parliament is taking  _seven_ of our recruits now?" Breakdown asked venomously. Bulkhead flinched at Breakdown's tone, helm hanging in defeat as he gave a small, affirmative nod.

"Yes, Arcee and Smokescreen are going to select seven of our recruits tomorrow to work for the Parliament," Bulkhead admitted quietly, helm turning away from Breakdown's scathing glare.

"You can say no to the Parliament's demands, you realize that, right?" Breakdown snapped as he strode up to Bulkhead, servos pressed against his hip plates in irritation.

Bulkhead looked over at Breakdown, mouth opening for a second then, with a rapid shake of his helm, walked away from Breakdown. Breakdown watched Bulkhead hurry down the hallway then, with a deep exhale of his vents, turned back into his room.

Breakdown sat down on his berth with a tired vent, optic turning to the datapad laying beside him. Slowly, Breakdown reached for the datapad, optic scanning the article slowly.

_Earth: The Story of Team Prime and how They Revived Cybertron"_

_Authored By Lunarshift_

_The story of Cybertron's revival is one of hardships and great sacrifices. The late Optimus Prime and his team of Autobots, Ratchet, Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Smokescreen, Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus defied all challenges when they invaded the Decepticon warship, the_ Nemesis _. With the odds stacked against them, Team Prime successfully defeated Megatron - thanks to Bumblebee - and commandeered the_ Nemesis _. The group defeated the utterly vile and despicable Decepticon army-_

Breakdown threw the datapad away from himself, anger stoking in his spark at the article's words.  _Trust the Autobots to fabricate lies about that day. And they don't even mention the humans - or how Dreadwing and I helped. Not that the omission of former Decepticons helping Autobots is surprising. Can't let the Autobots know that not all Decepticons are "vile and despicable" beings._

Bitterly, Breakdown turned away from the datapad, optic shuttering closed as he plopped back against his berth and slowly fell into recharge.

* * *

"All eleven of you have come far in these six months that you have trained with the New Wreckers and, now, it is time for all of you to move on to greater purposes," Bulkhead announced to the eleven remaining recruits, all of whom looked slightly nervous.

Breakdown was standing beside Wheeljack behind Bulkhead, while Arcee and Smokescreen watched from further off. Today, the Wrecker recruits were to graduate from their training and move on to their assignments.

Bulkhead lifted up a datapad, scanned over it for a moment then nodded.

"First off, Speedkick. You have been assigned to protection detail for the Cybertron Science Program. You have a week to report to their headquarters and begin working for them." Speedkick's red visor glowed with joy as Bulkhead read out his assignment. The Vehicon had always been curious about Cybertron's revamped science branch since he had signed up for the Wrecker Recruit Program. Breakdown was happy for the young Vehicon and thankful to Wheeljack for his persistence in getting that job posting for the Vehicon.

Bulkhead looked down at the datapad once more then turned to the recruits once more. "Furyclaw and Cloudblade, you have both been assigned to the Cybertron Protection Agency. You both are required there by first light tomorrow."

The Cybertron Protection Agency was a government mandated unit that specialized in the outer defense of Cybertron, including patrolling Cybertron's moons and cities for potential threats. Furyclaw nodded his turquoise and cream helm indifferently, his red optics betraying his indifference by sparking with nervous joy. Cloudblade, in complete contrast, look horrified, her pale chassis shaking as she turned to stare at her brother, Halfcloud.

"But," she stammered, "you said Halfcloud and I would be assigned together! We've never done anything without the other!"

"I am sorry, Cloudblade, but your assignments had to be changed," Bulkhead said apologetically, his apology only earning a swift glare from Cloudblade.

Bulkhead ignored her glare to look towards the remaining recruits, signaling towards Skysnarl. "Skysnarl, you have been assigned to Iacon's Police Force, starting in three days."

Skysnarl nodded silently, truly indifferent to his post as Bulkhead turned to the remaining recruits.

"The rest of you: Ironblade, Savageblitz, Halfcloud, Spinout, Flamesplitter, Crossbolt and Viperstrike, you have all been assigned as guards for the Parliament-"

"What?" Viperstrike gasped, her red optics flaring with anger as she glared at Bulkhead, "Wheeljack said that I was going to be assigned to the Engineering Corp, not the Parliament! What gives?"

"Yeah," Savageblitz added nervously, "Wheeljack said that I was headed to the Medical Division, he assured me of that!"

Wheeljack turned his gaze to Breakdown, guilt darkening his blue optics as he turned away from the recruits.

"Wheeljack, you can't feel guilty about this," Breakdown said gently, placing a servo on the Wrecker's shoulder plate, "you know this is not your fault. The Parliament is the only one at fault here."

"Still," Wheeljack growled, "I  _hate_ this. I don't want the Wreckers to have their reputation soured so quickly because we are not delivering on our promises to the sponsors  _and_ our recruits."

"I agree, Wheeljack," Breakdown growled, "and I feel bad for all of them, especially for Savageblitz. He has a sound processor for medical knowledge and he has a willing spark to care for anyone. He should not be working for the Parliament,  _none_ of your recruits should."

Wheeljack nodded in agreement and said nothing more, turning instead to watch Bulkhead try to placate Viperstrike and the others. Breakdown followed Wheeljack's gaze, optic narrowing on the line of arguing recruits.

Viperstrike had stomped up to Bulkhead, shoving an emerald-green and beige servo into Bulkhead's chestplate as her red optics narrowed on him. "You can't make me work for the Parliament, Bulkhead! I refuse! I deserve the chance to work with the Engineering Corps, it is all I  _want_ to do!"

"I understand that, Viperstrike, but I  _cannot_ refuse the requests from the Parliament. The Parliament provides funding for this entire operation and I can't refuse their request for our recruits," Bulkhead said coldly, Viperstrike's expression turning pained at Bulkhead's indifferent tone.

"I- I," Viperstrike's voice cracked with pain, the agony in her optics making Breakdown look away from the recruit as she turned away from Bulkhead with a vent of defeat.

"All seven of you that have been assigned to the Parliament will follow Arcee and Smokescreen to the Parliament headquarters today. I wish every one of you good luck in your assignments," Bulkhead said, gaze shifting between each recruit.

Breakdown and Wheeljack watched as their recruits slowly began to disperse, the seven assigned to the Parliament heading over to Arcee and Smokescreen while the remaining four hung around for a few extra klicks. Cloudblade and Halfcloud were talking to each other quietly, Cloudblade's lemon-yellow and gray servos clutched over her brother's golden-yellow and azure colored servos, their helms pressed together.

Flamesplitter had his reddish-brown and pink chassis pressed against Furyclaw, both whispering goodbyes to each other. Behind those two, Skysnarl and Ironblade were laughing alongside Savageblitz and Speedkick, the four recruits snorting uproariously from a joke Breakdown could not hear.

The electric-blue and silver Spinout did not join in with the other recruits, his night-blue optics narrowed with an unreadable expression as he watched his fellow recruits. Spinout was soon joined by the dark blue and green Crossbolt, her arms crossing over her chest with a disgusted snort as she looked at the rest of the recruits.

Breakdown looked at Wheeljack then walked over to the recruits, saying quiet goodbyes and wishing good luck to each recruit. Savageblitz stopped Breakdown, servo grasping onto the thick metal of Breakdown's left arm. Breakdown turned towards the Vehicon, expecting Savageblitz to ask him about hi assignment but instead startled back when Savageblitz wrapped his arms around Breakdown in a hug.

"Thank you, Commander," Savageblitz whispered, "for everything. I'll miss you."

Breakdown let a small smile cross his faceplate as the young Vehicon tightened his grip around Breakdown, raising one servo to scruffle Savageblitz's helm. "I'll miss you too, kid."

Savageblitz finally let go of Breakdown, nodding his helm respectfully to Breakdown as he backed away and walked over to Arcee and Smokescreen. Breakdown looked at the recruits one last time and then joined Wheeljack once more.

Wheeljack let out a quiet huff as he looked up at Breakdown, optics unreadable. "We aren't going to let the Parliament take our recruits again. I don't like the Parliament at all, nor do I trust them."

Breakdown looked away from Wheeljack, optic traveling over the Cybertronians gathered in the room and then let out a slow vent. "Me neither, Wheeljack, me neither."

* * *

_Two Years and Six Months ACR…_

"Looking forward to our new recruits, Breakdown?" Wheeljack asked, teasingly jabbing Breakdown in the side. Breakdown jabbed Wheeljack in turn, the white Wrecker stumbling away from Breakdown with an affronted glare. Breakdown snorted at Wheeljack's expression for a brief moment then straightened up once more.

Half a year had passed since the Wreckers second class of recruits had gone their separate ways. In that time, the Wrecker program has successfully trained a third class of recruits, all of whom had been assigned to positions ordained by the Parliament. Breakdown and Wheeljack had both been furious when the assignments had been sent in.

"Who knows?" Breakdown grumbled, "Whoever was selected by Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus for this class most likely will just be taken by the Parliament."

Wheeljack grumbled under his breath at the mention of the Parliament, narrowing slightly. "They better not."

"Hey, Jackie, Breakdown!" Bulkhead shouted behind the two, drawing both attention to the green Wrecker as he moved up beside them.

"Bulkhead," Wheeljack greeted quietly, Breakdown only offering a nod of acknowledgement to Bulkhead.

Bulkhead sent Breakdown and Wheeljack a quizzical look, "What is up with you two? Aren't you excited for the new class, Wheeljack?"

"Not really," Wheeljack growled as he shot Bulkhead a scowl, "especially if these new recruits are just going to be handed off to the Parliament again."

"What? That doesn't make any sense, Jackie," Bulkhead said, "the Parliament isn't going to take our recruits-"

"How do you know that?" Breakdown snarled, "They've already acquired seventeen of our recruits in the last seven months. What could the Parliament need with  _seventeen_ of our recruits? It seems  _odd_ to me."

Bulkhead turned to Breakdown, arms crossing over his chest plate as he shot a glowering look towards Breakdown. "Scrap, Breakdown, are you ever  _not_ paranoid?" Bulkhead snapped, voice edged with flint.

Breakdown snarled at Bulkhead, the two mechs glaring at each other with venomous hate-

"Hey, stop it, both of you," Wheeljack suddenly snapped, stepping between Breakdown and Bulkhead, servos pressed against both's chest plates.

Bulkhead backed down first, optics snapping away from Breakdown, who let out a disgusted snort at Bulkhead. Bulkhead turned away from Breakdown and pulled a datapad from his storage compartment, activating the small device.

Breakdown watched Bulkhead read over the datapad with disinterest, turning his gaze away when Bulkhead turned back towards him and Wheeljack.

"We have ten recruits this this time. There names are: Tripwire, Tetrarch, Clawshock, Helisteel, Stormrunner, Backdraft, Goldfist, Scorchglide, Yosemite and Outburst."

"Yosemite?" Breakdown questioned, "The Vehicon?"

"Uh, yes," Bulkhead said, shooting Breakdown a surprised, questioning look, "his file states that he is a Vehicon, and one who left Megatron's army on Earth before we defeated Megatron. His file doesn't say  _why_ he left the Decepticons though."

"He was one of the Vehicons who allied with Dreadwing and helped fight Unicron and his army of undead Predacons," Breakdown said, irritable sarcasm going unnoticed by Bulkhead nor Wheeljack.

"Oh," Bulkhead muttered, "I see. Aside from him, we have two former Decepticon soldiers, Scorchglide and Outburst. Tetrarch's file says that she was never affiliated with either the Autobots or Decepticons. Backdraft's file says the same as Tetrarch and that the two are partners. Tripwire, Clawshock, Helisteel, Stormrunner and Goldfist are all well documented fighters for the Autobot cause during the war."

"Sounds like a solid group," Wheeljack admitted, "hopefully, each will prove their mettle to us in the next six months."

"And," Breakdown growled, drawing the attention of his two fellow Wreckers, "let's hope that this time our entire class - our program's intentions - are not undermined by the Parliament's greed."

* * *

"Welcome to the Wreckers Recruit Program everyone!" Bulkhead announced to the line of ten recruits standing before him, Breakdown and Wheeljack.

Breakdown was never one to judge someone off of their design - all that mattered to him was one's character - and this time was no different as he looked at the ten recruits. His gaze stopped on Yosemite, who noticed him at the same time and gave him a happy wave before the Vehicon turned his attention back to Bulkhead, who was running down the rules of the Wrecker program.

Finally, Bulkhead turned to Breakdown and Wheeljack, and gave both a cracked smile. "Please introduce yourselves to our recruits, you two."

Wheeljack stepped forward first, arms crossed over his chest plate as he gazed around the line of recruits. "The name's Wheeljack. Like Bulkhead here, I was one of the members of the original Wrecker unit in the beginning of the war. I'll be looking forward to working and training all of you."

Wheeljack glanced over to Breakdown, signaling him forward with a slight movement of his servo. Breakdown sighed and then stepped up alongside Wheeljack, optic narrowing on the assembled recruits.

"My name is Breakdown, and I was a Decepticon for most of the war." Breakdown vented tiredly when he saw the five of the recruits stare at each other nervously, then continued, "Before I joined the Decepticons, I was one of the founding members for the original Wreckers unit. Near the end of our war, I allied myself with Optimus Prime and his Autobots and helped them for nearly two years to defeat the Decepticons and revive our planet."

One of the recruits, a large golden-yellow and red grounder, scanned his optics over Breakdown judgingly. "Is it wise to have a former Decepticon training us? We all know how insane Decepticons tend to be. I don't want to have to watch my back every moment because we have a Decepticon for a teacher."

Breakdown stepped back slightly, a snort of rage escaping his vents as he glared at the recruit who had spoken up. He was about to retort when he heard a snarl from one of the recruits, a lithe gray and violet flyer with cherry-red optics, her helm turning to the first recruit.

"Mind your words you piece of slag Autobot!" She snapped, "Us 'Decepticons' aren't going to backstab anyone, unless they  _ask_ for it!"

The two recruits began to advance on each other, optics narrowing and servos clenching-

Wheeljack leapt in between the two recruits suddenly, shoving both apart with a warning snarl. "Enough, both of you!"

The two recruits glared at each other for a few more moments then backed away from each other, tension rank in the air as the two settled back into the line of recruits. Breakdown stomped over to the first recruit who had spoken out, glaring down at the recruit furiously.

"I don't appreciate you judging me without even knowing me,  _recruit_ ," Breakdown snarled, jabbing his servo into the recruit's chest plate vicisciously, "What's your name?"

"Goldfist," the recruit said, tone proud.

Breakdown snapped his gaze to the other recruit that had spoken up, engine thrumming with anger as he glared at her. "And you?"

"I am Outburst, sir," she stammered fear sparking in her optics as Breakdown continued to glare at her.

Breakdown turned his gaze back to Goldfist, who had finally begun to look nervous at Breakdown's fury, then let go of Goldfist. Breakdown stepped away from Goldfist, glaring at each recruit in the line, stopping on Outburst.

"I will  _never_ tolerate anyone mocking me, or any other recruit, for their role in the war," Breakdown snapped, "you are all here in this program together and none of us will tolerate infighting. Do all of you understand?"

The ten recruits looked at each other unhappily but nodded in understanding at Breakdown's words. Breakdown scowled at the lot of them just as Bulkhead asked for the rest of the recruits to introduce themselves.

The first to step forward was a well-built red and pastel blue flyer marked with the Decepticon insignia, her helm ducking as she looked towards Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead.

"Please call me Scorchglide," she said, her tone extremely formal, "and I am honored to be one of those selected for this program. I will do my best to make all three of you proud of my actions."

Scorchglide looked at Breakdown, a strange look glowing in her optics as she ducked her helm once more and backed into the line of recruits.

The next to introduce themselves were Tetrarch, a tall dark orange and cherry hued flyer, and Backdraft, who was a well-built and strong cherry-red and pinkish-white flyer. Breakdown recognized their names as the two mechs who had been unaligned during the war. Both seemed slightly nervous as they glanced at Breakdown, optics lingering on his scarred faceplate and missing optic before shifting to Wheeljack's swords.

Backdraft and Tetrarch were shoved out of the way by a massive cyan and gray tank Autobot, his faceplate marked by a deep scowl. "Tripwire."

Tripwire said nothing else, wheeling back into line beside a creamy-white and green recruit. That recruit glared up at Tripwire, helicopter rotor blades protruding from his arms as he introduced himself as Helisteel.

_Fitting name_ , Breakdown thought sarcastically as Helisteel began preening his rotor blades.

The next to introduce herself was a young, gray blue Autobot, noting herself as Stormrunner.

The last recruit to step up was strikingly beautiful, her chassis a mixed hue of pastel purple, blue and pink that served to highly accent the sharp wings protruding from her backstrut and shoulders.

"I am Clawshock," she explained, raising her servos - with their claw-like digits - to her chest delicately. "I look forward to training with all of you."

"And us, you," Bulkhead said, "I know that Wheeljack and Breakdown are as excited about teaching all of you as I am. Now, if you would follow me, I will show all of you your quarters for the next six months."

Bulkhead turned and walked away from the recruits. Every recruit, but for Yosemite and Clawshock, followed after Bulkhead as the green Wrecker left the main room.

Once Bulkhead and the recruits left, Breakdown shot Wheeljack an annoyed glare, which Wheeljack returned with equal annoyance.

"Breakdown?"

Breakdown turned towards the voice, optic turning down to Yosemite. "Yes, Yosemite?"

"May I speak with you, privately?" Yosemite asked, his optics shifting to Wheeljack warily. Wheeljack stiffened at Yosemite's words but, with a uncaring shrug, Wheeljack walked away from Breakdown and Yosemite.

"What do you really want, Yosemite?" Breakdown asked the Vehicon, servos pressing against his hip plates as he looked down at Yosemite.

The Vehicon seemed nervous, his left digits tapping against his arm plates as he looked up at Breakdown.

"I was wondering if you have heard anything from Dreadwing?" Yosemite asked softly, helm jerking away from Breakdown quickly.

Breakdown stared at Yosemite quizzically then shook his helm. "No, I haven't seen Dreadwing since that ridiculous 'celebration' the Autobots put on. Why?"

"I was hoping you would have heard from him as he seemed to respect you, but I guess not," Yosemite grumbled, "He left us - Pillar, Mortar and I - behind only a few months after your Iacon Trial was publicized. We haven't seen him since. I'm worried for him, truth be told."

Breakdown said nothing to Yosemite's words, though he did feel an uncomfortable rush of unease wash over him.

Yosemite suddenly shook his helm, muttered an apology for "wasting Breakdown's time, then bolted out of the room. Breakdown's gaze followed the Vehicon for a few moments then turned to where Wheeljack was ushering Clawshock away. Clawshock hesitated briefly then walked away, leaving Wheeljack to shoot a querying look towards Breakdown.

"What did he want?" Wheeljack asked as he walked over to Breakdown, servo ponying after Yosemite.

"He wanted to know if I had heard from Dreadwing lately," Breakdown explained quietly, optic shifting around the room warily.

"Why?"

"Because he believes Dreadwing has disappeared," Breakdown explained, "and he is worried about Dreadwing."

Wheeljack gave Breakdown a scrutinizing look, optics narrow as he looked around the room.

"You don't think Dreadwing disappeared do you, Breakdown?"

"No. No, I don't."

* * *

_Two Years and Nine Months ACR…_

Breakdown raced along the Sea of Rust, engine thrumming with urgency, Wheeljack's white sports car alt racing just ahead of Breakdown.

Yosemite shot over Breakdown, followed closely by Clawshock, Scorchglide and Outburst, all four jets banking to stay close to Breakdown and Wheeljack. Wheeljack slowed, allowing Breakdown to pull up alongside him.

Wheeljack's right mirror tilted towards Breakdown, engine thrumming anxiously as they raced down the Sea of Rust's highway.

"I hope we will get there in time," Wheeljack said anxiously, Breakdown letting out a growl of agreement from his engine.

The six were responding to a distress call Wheeljack had caught over the radio frequencies, though neither Breakdown nor Wheeljack really knew the full situation of the distress call. Wheeljack had only hear snatches of noise from the call and, from what the Wrecker had gathered, there was possibly a rogue Decepticon attacking bicentennial Cybertronians.

Wheeljack had fielded a response team, a part of the clause that had been agreed upon when Wheeljack and Bulkhead had petitioned to the Parliament the recreation of the Wreckers. The Wreckers had only provided a response team three other times in the roughly two years that the group had existed, though none of those incidents had been violent.

"Hey! I see something ahead!" Outburst shouted, blasting away with a storage of her engine.

"Why can't she ever stay in formation?" Wheeljack sighed irritably as she blasted away, muttering only loudly enough for Breakdown to her him.

Breakdown did not reply to Wheeljack as his attention had been snatched away by an immense gathering of Cybertronians, all flanked in a large circle. Breakdown and Wheeljack pulled up to the circle, transforming out of their alt modes as Clawshock and Scorchglide landed beside them.

"Stay behind us," Wheeljack warned the two recruits then shoved his way into the crowd.

Breakdown pushed his way through the crowd roughly, shouldering aside Cybertronians without apology. He could hear Cybertronians sweat at him and Wheeljack, but ignored them, pushing through the crowd until he and Wheeljack reached the source of disturbance

Standing in the middle of the circle was a jet black Decepticon-

"Flightlock!" Wheeljack gasped, recognizing Flightlock at the same time as Breakdown.

Flightlock was flowering around the ring of Cybertronians, one pede pressed against the backstrut of a twitching Cybertronian, hate sparking in his optics. Wheeljack stepped out of the crowd, approaching Flightlock cautiously, warily.

"Flightlock, what are you doing?" Wheeljack asked, his voice snapping Flightlock's attention fully on the white Wrecker, hate simmering off his chassis. With the distraction afforded by Wheeljack, Breakdown began to move behind Flightlock, all the while keeping his optic on Wheeljack and his recruits.

Flightlock did not answer Wheeljack, though he did remove his pede from the injured Cybertronian's backstrut, allowing the damaged mech to begin to pull himself away from Flightlock.

Clawshock leapt out from the crowd, servos wrapping around the injured mech as she pulled him into the crowd of Cybertronians. A few nanoseconds later, Clawshock reappeared with Outburst, Scorchglide and Yosemite beside her. As Wheeljack continued to distract Flightlock, the four recruits hurriedly began ushering the crowd of Cybertronians away, Clawshock shouting warnings to every gathered mech.

As the crowd slowly, unwillingly, began to disperse, Breakdown continued to advance on Flightlock from behind the Decepticon.

Wheeljack had one servo raised towards Flightlock passively, though his other was tensed, ready to unsheathe the swords on his back. Flightlock seemed oblivious to Wheeljack's intentions, turning to the crowd of Cybertronians being hurried away by Clawshock, Scorchglide and Outburst.

"Where are you going?" Flightlock howled after them, "Cowards! Autobot scum!"

"Flightlock!" Wheeljack hissed, "Why are you here?"

Flightlock turned on Wheeljack, servos twitching as he stomped up to Wheeljack and stared him directly in the optics. "What does it matter to you, Wheeljack? I'm free from you and your Wrecker 'rules'. I can do whatever I want, including offlining pesky Autobots."

"Just because you were removed from the Wrecker Recruit Program, Flightlock, does not mean you can offline 'pesky Autobots'," Wheeljack snapped, "you know Cybertron's laws."

Flightlock let out a hysterical laugh before glaring once more at Wheeljack. "Laws made by  _Autobots_ , Wheeljack. I will never obey laws made by Autobot to punish us Decepticons."

Wheeljack rolled his optics, but that moment of inattentiveness was all Flightlock needed to act. With a roar of fury from his engine, Flightlock smashed into Wheeljack, sending both crashing to the ground in a heap of flying servos and clashing metal. Wheeljack, having been caught by surprise, thrashed under Flightlock's weight, desperate to throw the Decepticon off him.

Flightlock raised one servo above Wheeljack's helm, transforming it into its gun alt, whirring with energy as it prepared to fire-

Breakdown ripped Flightlock off of Wheeljack, hammer servo smashing into the Decepticon's helm, sending him stumbling backwards, gun servo firing harmlessly. Flightlock shook his helm and tensed, glaring up at Breakdown, backing away from Breakdown slightly as he stomped towards the dark-colored Decepticon.

Without saying a word, Breakdown lunged towards Flightlock, servo latching onto the Decepticon's helm before he could react and, with a venomous snarl, Breakdown threw Flightlock to the ground roughly. Flightlock thrashed, claws scrabbling against Breakdown's arm plates, pedes kicking out against Breakdown's legs.

Breakdown ignored Flightlock's attempts to escape as he shoved Flightlock's helm against the round, Flightlock wincing as his helm ground against the steel ground of Cybertron.

"What kind of self-deserving Decepticon would ever let himself become a slave to the whim of Autobots?" Flightlock hissed quietly, red optics turning to Breakdown with an unreadable expression.

Breakdown stiffened at Flightlock's words, servo tightening around the Cybertronian's helm, anger bristling through his chassis.

"I'm not a  _slave_ to the Autobots, Flightlock?" Breakdown growled, "and I never have been."

"Then you are a delusional, blind fool," Flightlock snickered, "Look at yourself. You let yourself be forced into working with the Wrecker program for your safety, and you know why the Parliament wanted to do that? Because they are afraid of all Decepticons and they know the easiest way to subdue their enemy is to keep them close by so they can kill them when they step a pede over the line.

"You want to change Cybertron, Breakdown, but how can you when you are being used by the Parliament and the Autobots?" Flightlock let out a humorless, chilling laugh as the distant sound of sirens began to screech through the air.

Breakdown looked towards the source of the sirens, spotting four police enforcement mechs racing towards the scene.

"Cybertron is in no better place now than it was before and during the war," Flightlock giggled manically, "and that will never change if you don't realize you are being used, Breakdown."

"Breakdown, let him go," Wheeljack said urgently beside Breakdown, servos wrapping around Breakdown's left shoulder plate, "enforcement is coming and we don't want to get in trouble."

Slowly, Breakdown released his grip on Flightlock's helm, stepping away from the Decepticon as the four enforcements agents slid to a stop near them. The four Enforcement Officers transformed out of their alt modes and approached Breakdown and Wheeljack, gazes turning down to Flightlock, who still had breakdown's pede on his backstrut.

"We heard about a rogue Decepticon attacking a group of Cybertronians," one of the officer said as he stepped forward, casting a scornful gaze to Flightlock, "we thank you, Wheeljack, for subduing this Decepticon before he hurt any more people."

"Of course," Wheeljack muttered, "but Breakdown was the one who subdued Flightlock. You should be thanking him too."

"Oh," the first officer said, giving a disinterested look towards Breakdown with his light blue optics before he turned back to Wheeljack, "either way, we thank you for responding to the emergency. We will be taking the suspect now."

"Uh, of course," Wheeljack said, giving Breakdown a sharp nudge of his shoulder plate. Breakdown slowly lifted his pede from Flightlock's backstrut and backed away, optic watching the four officers as they bent down to Flightlock and yanked the black Decepticon to his pedes.

Breakdown watched the four officers drag away Flightlock, thoughts so focused on what the Decepticon had said that he failed to hear Wheeljack call his name until he felt a sharp jab against his helm.

"Hey, doofus, you're spacing on us again," Wheeljack laughed, "wake up, Breakdown."

"Oh, what?" Breakdown said distantly, turning to Wheeljack with a muttered 'sorry'. Wheeljack shrugged off Breakdown's apology, turning instead to the four recruits standing behind him.

"All four of you did well to disperse the crowd," Wheeljack complemented, "thanks for that. We were lucky Flightlock was so easy to subdue, he very easily could have injured another mech. By the way, what did you do with the injured mech?"

"I took him to Team Prime's Headquarters," Clawshock explained, "I figured Knock Out was the wisest choice to take care of that injured mech."

"I don't know Knock Out well, but I know that Team Prime will take care of that injured mech like one of their own," Wheeljack said, his voice flush with approval.

Breakdown still was silent, staring off into space as his thoughts kept running back to Flightlock's words-

"Breakdown," Wheeljack snapped, "pay attention. I already said we were leaving a snarl up didn't seem to hear me. What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Breakdown lied, "I was just thinking of stuff."

"Okay, whatever you say," Wheeljack said disbelievingly. Wheeljack watched Breakdown for a few more moments before transforming into his alt, though he did not move.

Venting, Breakdown transformed into his alt mode and moved up alongside Wheeljack, following after the white Wrecker as he roared away. Breakdown followed just behind Wheeljack, the familiar roar of his engine failing to soothe his thoughts.

_Is Flightlock right? Am I really letting myself be used?_

* * *

_Two Years and Eleven Months ACR…_

Breakdown watched the ten recruits train with Bulkhead apathetically, attention drawn more to the datapad in his left servo than to the recruits and their teacher. In the two months since Breakdown and Wheeljack had returned from their encounter with Flightlock, Breakdown had grown ever more distant to the recruits and Bulkhead and even to Wheeljack.

Breakdown had become engrossed in reading articles, gleaning them for information on his former Decepticon allies - most especially any information on Dreadwing. He had been excited when he had found an independently - and primarily Decepticon - published news source called  _The Nemesis Chronicle_ , its articles mainly focusing on Cybertron's politics. But the articles Breakdown looked for the most were the ones written by somemech named "Ruffian", who wrote candid reports on the Decepticons captured by different Cybertronian enforcement agencies and, once a week, wrote a story about the inner workings of the Parliament.

As Breakdown continued to gloss over that day's articles on  _The Nemesis Chronicles_  he heard the sound of pedes stop beside him. Breakdown looked down at Wheeljack, muttering a quiet hello to his fellow Wrecker as he turned his attention back to the article he was reading.

…  _the former Decepticon was tried for his 'war crimes' and was then promptly incarcerated without parole or definitive sentencing. Just last week, nearly two months after Flightlock was incarcerated, was Flightlock's offlined corpse discovered in his cell._

_The cause of his offlining has not been determined and the whereabouts of his body is unknown to all-_

Suddenly, without warning, the datapad was yanked from Breakdown's grasp, his gaze snapping to Wheeljack, who was holding Breakdown's datapad in his servos with fury burning through his optics.

"For frag's sake, Breakdown! I was  _talking_ to you and you ignored me completely,  _again_!" Wheeljack snarled, servos clenching around Breakdown's datapad with a venomous glare, "What even is your-"

"Problem, Wheeljack?" Breakdown interrupted, "That's what you were going to ask and, for your information, it is none of your-"

"Hey! Wheeljack, Breakdown, enough!" Bulkhead's shout snapped both Breakdown and Wheeljack's gazes away from the other and towards Bulkhead. Bulkhead looked bewildered as he stared at Breakdown and Wheeljack. Just behind Bulkhead we're the ten recruits, all shooting each other nervous and confused glances.

Bulkhead looked between Breakdown and Wheeljack, servos raised slightly as the green Wrecker let out a massive vent. "What has gotten into you two? You are both so unfriendly to each other," Bulkhead stated, "and I can't understand why. I thought you both tolerated the other, so what is going on with you?"

"Well, it isn't my fault," Wheeljack grumbled, "Breakdown's the one who has been acting weird the last two months since we ran into Flightlock."

Breakdown was about to retort Wheeljack's words but, with a glare to Wheeljack, Bulkhead and the recruits, Breakdown fled.

* * *

Something snapped Breakdown from his recharge, optic snapping around his quarters, searching through the darkness for what had woken him. From what little flowed into his quarters, Breakdown could see nothing in the shadows, nothing that could have warranted waking him so  _suddenly_ from recharge.

"Wheeljack?" Breakdown ventured, "Bulkhead?"

There was no answer but for an eerie feeling of wind chilling over his chassis, sending a shudder down the entirety of his backstrut.

Breakdown slowly got to his pedes, optic scanning the shadows for movement, for-

White-hot electricity burned through Breakdown's chassis, frying viral wires and short-circuiting his entire being. Breakdown wavered in place and, as his drives began to shut down, his optic hesitated on a towering figure stepping out from the shadows.

* * *

Sharp needles of pain snapped Breakdown awake, optic whirling about his surroundings. He did not recognize where he was, with its high, steel gray walls, bare for all but a strange pale blue Decepticon insignia slashed through with three red strikes.

Breakdown tried to move his arms but was met by resistance from multiple thick bands of metal strapped over his arms. His legs were strapped down also, making it impossible for him to move.

"Well, well," a cold voice scoffed, the voice sounding strangely distant and echoey, "look who woke up!"

"Who are you and what do you want with me!" Breakdown snarled, optic searching for the source of the voice.

"You don't remember me?" The voice replied with a sudden burst of light that flooded Breakdown's optic for a brief second. As Breakdown's vision cleared, his helm was yanked to the right by a set of sharp digits and to two dark red optics.

The Cybertronian looking into his optic had a well-built design, jet black in color and with a large set of wings protruding from her backstrut. A small Autobot insignia was visible on her right chest plate, which was marked by a single stripe of ice-white color.

"I'm offended Breaky," she giggled, "you can't recognize your friend, Iceblaze?"

"Iceblaze?" Breakdown quieted for a nanosecond until his processor latched onto the name. "You're from the ADEG."

"Precisely!" Iceblaze laughed, digits rapping against Breakdown's helm with a cheery cackle. "Seems like your processor isn't as dull as it seems."

Breakdown growled at her obvious jab, wishing he could pummel the smirk off of Iceblaze's smug face. She seemed to notice his expression and only snorted in response.

"Silly little Decepticon, did you  _really_ think you would escape from the ADEG much longer?"

"I was excused from being hunted by you idiots," Breakdown snapped, "it was part of the ruling from my Iacon Trial."

""Ah, yes," Iceblaze cackled, "that is where you are wrong, Breakdown. The rules have changed and all Decepticons are up for free game. Metalflash wanted  _you_  most of all, considering how you damaged him all those months ago. And so did I."

"Why?" Breakdown growled, "You shouldn't have any quarrel against me. I don't even know you!"

Iceblaze's expression changed at Breakdown's words, the humored smile darkening into a hateful scowl as her red optics blazed with fury.

"I have every reason to want to make you suffer, Breakdown. You killed my mother. You killed  _Razortalon_."

"You're  _Razortalon's_ sparkling?" Breakdown gasped, thoughts flashing to the Decepticon experimentalist he had killed, "What?"

"Yes I am," Iceblaze hissed.

"But, you're an Autobot!" Breakdown pointed out, "Razortalon was one of Megatron's closest advisors. So, why are you an Autobot?"

"Because," Iceblaze explained, her angered tone shifting to muted pain, "my mother's conjux was an Autobot named Skythunder. She made him raise me after I was born near the end of the war on Cybertron. My mother assumed I would be safer with him, and I was, for a long time. He eventually died after we fled Cybertron and I was left on my own.

"I'm an Autobot through and through,like my father." Iceblaze vented then, without warning, her expression shifted back to one of hate and she smashed her servos on Breakdown's chest plate.

"You are never leaving from here again, Breakdown," Iceblaze snarled, "and I am allowed to do  _whatever_ I want to you."

With those words, Iceblaze raised up one of her servos and transformed into into a drill. Breakdown's optic widened and he tried desperately to escape from Iceblaze, but he could do nothing for the straps holding him down as Iceblaze powered her drill towards him.

* * *

_Three Years and Five Months ACR…_

Breakdown had lost track of all time since his capture, never once being awarded the chance to walk away from the slab he was strapped down to. His processor was full from never ending torture inflicted upon him by Iceblaze and Metalflash.

He could still feel the ache of bled Energon, the fire of a buzz saw tearing through his chassis, agonized screams tearing from him. The pain was unending and unrelenting for Breakdown, and it was  _all_ Breakdown could think about  _groon_ after  _groon_ \- or what he assumed was a  _groon_. He never could tell.

The creak of a door opening was only recognized distantly in his processor, helm turning slowly - sludge like - towards the noise. Through the door ame the black femme, he couldn't recall her name, her red optics looking down on him with unhidden disgust. Behind her stepped another mech, this one orange and green in color with a helm tattered with scorch marks, his optics staring down at Breakdown.

"How have the tests come along, Iceblaze?" The male mech asked, his voice drone-like and distant.

"Fine," the female -  _Iceblaze, it's Iceblaze_ \- grumbled, her servos clambing onto Breakdown's wrist plate, "unfortunately we aren't allowed to experiment formulas on him. He told us that we could only use Breakdown for 'minor' experiments. Imagine what we could do with him, if only we were allowed to."

"Ohhh," the male growled, "I  _have_ imagined." The mech's blue optics snapped on Breakdown and, with surprising speed, he smashed his servo against Breakdown's helm, digits hooking under his chin as the mech twisted Breakdown's helm towards him.

"He seems to have lost his urge to fight us," the mech observed, Iceblaze agreeing with a curt nod.

"Yes, it seems like his personality has been sapped by my work," Iceblaze said proudly, "it is nice to work on someone who doesn't thrash about every moment."

"I bet," the orange and green mech laughed as he removed his servo from Breakdown's helm. "You know, Iceblaze, they never said we had to keep him alive."

"Oh, I know that, Metalflash," Iceblaze said, a delighted smile arching across her faceplate.

Iceblaze reached her servo forward, sharp digits running over the right side of Breakdown's helm, tapping the hole where his optic had once been. Vivid images of humans staring down at him, machines ripping through his chassis, and a green mech he, for some reason, thought he should know, raced through Breakdown's processor, sending a shudder of fear down his backstrut.

"Aw, poor thing," Iceblaze coed softly, digits stroking Breakdown's chin, "I can take all of your pain away-"

The sound of an explosion ripped through Breakdown's slug-like thoughts, snapping the attention of Iceblaze and the other mech to a huge hole in the wall of the room. Iceblaze stumbled back nervously as light from outside -  _outside_ \- poured into the room, illuminating the numerous machines placed along the wall.

"What was  _that_?" The mech screeched, his orange and green helm snapping about the room.

"How would I know?" Iceblaze howled in response, "It's not like I have the capability to determine everythi-"

Before Iceblaze could finish her sentence a set of huge, clawed servos smashed into her, sending her flying against the wall. The male mech looked around frantically, stepping away from the unseen threat, optics wide with fear.

"Who's there?" He barked, voice rising higher in pitch as he fearfully looked around.

No voice answered the mech only the sound of a cannon firing and then, with servos twitching, the male mech crashed to the ground -  _offlined_. Breakdown looked around for the source of the whole commotion, stopping suddenly when he saw two red optics flicker in the dark.

Breakdown tried to back away from the optics but to no avail, his arms and legs still strapped down to the operating slab.

Suddenly, from out of the shadows stepped a large blue Seeker, his red optics focused intently on Breakdown as the Seeker walked up to where Breakdown was.

"What did they do to you Breakdown?" The Seeker asked, horror scything through his words.

Breakdown did not answer, preferring instead to watch the blue Seeker rip the thick bands holding Breakdown in place off of him. The Seeker ripped off the last band and looked at Breakdown, an unreadable expression flashing through his optics for a brief moment before he suddenly pulled Breakdown to his pedes.

Breakdown stumbled forward the moment the Seeker pulled him to his pedes, processor sinking in waves of dizziness, but the Seeker held onto him steadily. Sharp digits turned Breakdown's helm towards the Seeker, his red optics searching Breakdown's own optic for something, but what, Breakdown could not figure out.

"You're coming with me," the Seeker snapped and, without offering Breakdown a warning, picked him up with a heaving snarl and leapt out of the hole in the wall of the building. The two fell momentarily, Breakdown clinging to the Seeker as the ground rushed towards them-

The ground vanished in a roar of an engine as the now transformed Seeker blasted away from the building. Breakdown tightened his grip on the Seeker's alt mode as he shot away from the city sprawled out below them, his lone optic turning one last time to the building the Seeker had saved him from. The building did not last long in Breakdown's vision, fading away to a mere dot in the skyline as the Seeker shot further and further away.

"Where are you taking me?" Breakdown asked, using his comms in hope that the Seeker would be able to hear him over the rush of wind.

"Somewhere safe, Breakdown," the Seeker said in answer, "don't worry."

"How do you know my name?" Breakdown asked suspiciously, servos tightening on the Seeker's alt mode as he suddenly banked to the right and began a slow descent.

The Seeker let out a soft vent as he spiraled down slowly, "You don't remember do you? Those ADEG pieces of slag really messed you up, Breakdown. I only hope that whatever they did to you, I can fix."

* * *

A week had passed since the Decepticon Seeker, Dreadwing, had saved Breakdown from the ADEG - Breakdown couldn't remember what ADEG stood for. In that time, Breakdown had into a near week long stasis, something he had greatly needed after being unable to recharge the entire time he had been Iceblaze's prisoner.

When Breakdown had woken the day previous, Dreadwing had told him that his processor had shut out certain memories for preservation's sake and that Breakdown was unable to remember most things because of that reason. Breakdown only had shrugged in response to the Seeker's words.

Only a few klicks ago, Dreadwing has left his headquarters, an aged, barely repaired building that sat on the outskirts of an unrepaired city-state. Dreadwing has not informed Breakdown of where the Seeker was going before e left, though he had warned Breakdown to not leave his headquarters.

_Don't have to worry, Dreadwing, I am not going anywhere_ , Breakdown thought to himself as he walked down one of the hallways in Dreadwing's headquarters. Breakdown turned down a different hallway, pausing briefly when he realized he hadn't been down this hallway before.

Something seems off about this hallway, Breakdown couldn't place  _what_  though. Suspicion pricking at his chassis, Breakdown slowly walked down the hall, right servo instinctively transforming into its hammer alt as he moved further down the hallway. As he contained down the hallway, the hall seemed to grow darker, the overhead lights dulling - as if there was something draining them of their power source.

_Strange_ , Breakdown thought, his optic adjusting to the dimming light, whirring mechanically as he turned his gaze to a room that was glowing a strange green color.

"What?" Breakdown muttered as he reached out one servo towards the door where the strange green glow was emanating-

"Breakdown, get back from there!" Dreadwing's shout startled Breakdown back, his optic wheeling to the blue Seeker standing further down the hallway, his expression not outraged but worried.

"Don't go in that room," Dreadwing growled as he walked up to Breakdown, "there is an unstable - and  _illegal_ \- Space Bridge in there. I nearly lost my wings when I went in there last time. So, please, don't ever go in there."

"If it is so dangerous, why have it?" Breakdown asked curiously.

"So I can leave Cybertron if it comes to it. I can return to Earth and stay there, far from the prying eyes of mechs who hate  _us_ for who we were, once." Dreadwing placed one of his servos on Breakdown's shoulder plate, urging him away from the room with the unstable Space Bridge.

As the two walked away, Breakdown looked back at the Space Bridge's room once more.

"What happens if someone finds out about the Space Bridge?"

"I would be killed," Dreadwing said with finality, adding nothing more as he lead Breakdown away from the hallway that led to the Space Bridge.

* * *

"Here," Dreadwing said as he offered Breakdown a purple datapad, "read this. It might help you understand what has happened since the ADEG captured you."

"But I don't remember what happened  _before_ I was captured!" Breakdown said, optic ridge quirking with a roll of his optic.

"I know that Breakdown," Dreadwing growled, "but those memoirs you can regain. These articles are for a time you know nothing about."

"Oh fine," Breakdown grumbled, snatching the datapad from Dreadwing. Dreadwing stayed still for a few moments then turned and walked away from Breakdown, leaving him to himself.

Breakdown vented and flicked on the datapad, optic narrowing at the first article that popped up.

_A Mystery Solved; A Life Lost: The Story of the disappearance of Breakdown, former Wrecker, Decepticon_ and  _Autobot and his Bloody Reappearance._

_Six months ago, Wrecker Recruit Program teacher Breakdown vanished in the middle of the night. His fellow teachers, Bulkhead and Wheeljack confirmed that he had been acting "strange" prior to his disappearance, Bulkhead attributing his disappearance to dissatisfaction with the Wreckers program. Wheeljack offered a different opinion, saying that,_

" _Breakdown may have been acting unlike himself for a time but that does not mean he left out of his own will. Breakdown isn't a fool, he would have told Bulkhead and I If he were leaving. Whatever happened to him, I hope he is okay."_

_Breakdown's whereabouts were unknown until two weeks ago when the Anti-Decepticon Enforcement Group's headquarters were sieges and the leader of the group, Metalflash, found dead. Most speculate that Breakdown was Metalflash's killer though, when this reporter asked Wheeljack for his opinion he stated…_

Breakdown stopped reading the article, confusion, anger, frustration and disbelief battling in his spark.

_I was working with the Wreckers? Blast that piece of slag Iceblaze! She tore everything from me, I don't even remember anything about what I have done for the last few years because of her!_

Infuriated, Breakdown punched the wall closest to him, leaving a sizable dent in it as realized how much he really  _had_ lost because of Iceblaze.

_I am going to do whatever it takes to get my memories back and Iceblaze is going to_ regret  _messing with me!_

* * *

_Three Years and Eight Months ACR…_

Breakdown raced down the highway, his alt modes engine snarling threateningly at any mech foolish enough to be in his way. Dreadwing flew above and behind Breakdown, keeping his jet form close enough to Breakdown Incase something happened but not close enough for Cybertronians to link the two together.

In the three months since Dreadwing had saved Breakdown, his memories had started coming back slowly, though just in patches. It didn't help when he would wake from recharge plagued by nightmares of the torture Iceblaze had put him through and his processor would shut away his memories once more. Breakdown was sick and tired of having his memories then losing them in an instant.

" _Breakdown, follow my course,"_ Dreadwing ordered over Breakdown's communication panel just as the blue jet shot over him and banked left. Breakdown blared his horn and snarled for the driving Cybertronians to get out of his way as he wove through traffic, following Dreadwing's jet form.

Dreadwing's path led Breakdown to a road that was nearly empty of Cybertronians, which Breakdown was glad about. Though not one to shy from bartering those in his way out of the way, Breakdown did not feel like doing so now.

Breakdown caught up to Dreadwing, who was hovering, waiting for him, then the two set off again.

" _We are- Wait, someone is following us,"_ Dreadwing suddenly snarled, his jet form braking instantaneously, Breakdown slamming his brakes at the same time.

Breakdown turned around, optic scanning behind him as he activated his cannon and waited in his alt mode. Dreadwing hovered over Breakdown, his engine quiet.

Finally, after what seemed like eons, a single set of headlights crested a rise and, with them, a cherry-red sports car.

"Knock Out?" Breakdown guessed just as said sports car suddenly ground to a halt in front of Breakdown and Dreadwing.

"What is your purpose in following us?" Dreadwing questioned, his tone just barely veiling a threat.

Knock Out said nothing for a few moments, his headlights flickering slightly before he transformed out of his alt mode and slammed his servo across Breakdown's hood.

Breakdown shot backwards, shocked by Knock Out's sudden act, though he recovered quickly to send Knock Out a glare.

Knock Out bent down to glare into Breakdown's windshield, red optics fueled with fire. "You almost ran me off the road, Breakdown! You  _scratched_ my paint!" Knock Out thrust a servo to his side, where a small nick cut through his paint job.

"It's a  _nick_ , Knock Out," Breakdown snarled, "Get over yourself."

Knock Out frowned, giving Breakdown a swift glare before he turned to Dreadwing, "What are you two doing out here? You are both wanted by the authorities, especially Breakdown. I don't think it wise for either of you two to be out in plain view."

"Let them come," Breakdown growled to himself, though both Dreadwing and Knock Out shot questioning looks towards him.

Dreadwing transformed out of his alt mode, pedes hitting the ground with a loud  _thud_ as he stared down at Knock Out. "Breakdown and I are-"

"You there! Put your servos in the air!"

Breakdown sighed, optic turning to the left, in the direction the voice had come from, and glared down at the blue Autobot staring up at him and Dreadwing with shock.

"Breakdown?  _Dreadwing_?" The young Autobot gasped, his name escaping Breakdown's memory, "Knock Out, what are you doing with these two?"

"Are you accusing me of working with traitors?" Knock Out scoffed, "Smokescreen, silly, you needn't worry your little spark over what I am doing. I saw these two and followed them both here."

The Autobot - Smokescreen? - contained to state at Dreadwing and Breakdown until Dreadwing snarled under his breath.

"We are investigating Cybertron's government, if you must know, Autobot," Dreadwing explained, arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at Smokescreen.

"Why?"

"Because," Breakdown snarled, "your precious government is corrupt."

Smokescreen looked at Breakdown, optic ridge raised disbelievingly, "The government is fine. Optimus would approve-"

"If you think  _that_ , Smokescreen, than you really are a naive idiot," Breakdown interrupted, glowering down at the smaller Autobot.

Smokescreen looked about to retort when a sudden crackle from his comms snapped his, Breakdown's and the others attention to Smokescreen's radio.

" _Leautinut Smokescreen, report in. You are late on your report on Grid 534L."_

Smokescreen hesitated, his gaze turning to Breakdown and Dreadwing slowly. Slowly, Smokescreen's servos twitched and he picked up his radio, activating it with a dull beep.

"Smokescreen here. I apologize for the late report, I had an engine problem. Everything is  _fine_ in this sector."

" _Good to hear. Make sure you get the problem checked out, we don't want someone on the force to have faulty hardware."_

"Of course, sir, I will get right on it!" Smokescreen shut off the radio and turned his gaze once more to Breakdown and Dreadwing.

"You two better not let me catch you again," Smokescreen snarled, "or I will have to bring you in."

Dreadwing said nothing, giving a curt nod to Smokescreen before he transformed back into his alt mode and took off, turning his engine on Smokescreen and Knock Out.

"Let's go, Breakdown."

Breakdown backed up, his alt modes tires screeching as he raced away from Smokescreen and Knock Out.

* * *

_Nine Years and Five Months ACR…_

"Disappearance, disappearance, dead, killed four Autobots, dead body 'mysteriously' vanished, and more," Breakdown listed out, servos sifting through data file after data file of information on his datapad.

Dreadwing, who was shifting through his own information in the back of the room, grunted in response.

"Yeah, same here Dreadwing," Breakdown agreed softly, "these last six years better be worth it in the end."

Dreadwing looked up from his datapad, red optics narrowing slightly. "It will, Breakdown. Every risk we take to find the truth will only make Cybertron better in the end."

"What if we die for this, Dreadwing?" Breakdown suddenly asked, his words drawing the Seeker's undivided attention to him.

"It is a possibility, Breakdown. But, if we are successful in making the public realize the problems with their government, and die for it, we should not see that as a horrible fate," Dreadwing said quietly.

"You will never get to see Skyquake in the AllSpark, will you?" Breakdown asked.

"No, I will not," Dreadwing admires slowly, "His spark is locked in the Shadowzone of Earth. There is no way for him to ever be at peace like he is."

"I am sorry about what happened to him," Breakdown said.

"There is nothing anyone could have done for my brother," Dreadwing vented, "For him, and all other innocent Decepticons who had been killed by the Parliament's rulings, is why I do this every day."

"I just hope we can do justice for  _everyone_ ," Breakdown said as he leaned his chin on his servos.

"Yes," Dreadwing said quietly then stood suddenly and swept out of the room without another word.

Breakdown watched Dreadwing leave then turned back to his datapad, flicking through the news absentmindedly. In the six long years since Dreadwing had rescued Breakdown from the ADEG, much had transpired.

Practically all of Breakdown's memories had returned, though moments did happen when he just couldn't remember something he knew he should have. He had learned how Dreadwing had made it his own personal mission to do justice for every mech hurt by the new Cybertronians government. Breakdown had been quick to join Dreadwing in his mission and, thus, the two of them spent years finding information on every suspicious disappearance or death and then catalogued it.

Breakdown had been horrified to realize just how many Decepticons - and in very rare cases - Autobots went "missing" after the Parliament had been inducted in as the government of Cybertron. When Dreadwing hacked the Parliament's private archives that had been the information breakthrough Breakdown and Dreadwing had been looking for. Information neither could have thought possible was revealed to them in moments.

Aside from the logistical information the two had gathered, they also had helped mechs - Autobot, Decepticon or unaligned, they didn't care - escape from the enforcement agencies. Dreadwing enjoyed those missions more than Breakdown did, but then again, the Seeker had a lot easier chance of escaping the officers than Breakdown and his slow Earth-designed alt mode did.

Breakdown had grown to enjoy spending time with Dreadwing and, to the best of his knowledge, Dreadwing seemed to enjoy Breakdown's company respectively.

Yet, Breakdown had begun to miss the company of Wheeljack - even Bulkhead - and the ease with which he had lived his life for that short time.

_No_ , Breakdown thought angrily,  _don't think of them. You are not like them, you never were and-_

Breakdown's thoughts skidded to a halt when his optic snapped onto an image in a news article. The article headline he ignored for the image was what drew him in. In stark colors stood Radiance, his expression ever the same smug look, and, at Radiance's pedes laid a Decepticon. Breakdown's gaze drug up to the headline, hate burning through his spark at the words.

_Decepticons; Mandatory Tracking Devices Just One Part To Ensuring Cybertron's Safety_

_Ah, scrap_ , Breakdown thought,  _that's just going to make things harder for us._

Breakdown logged the article into Dreadwing's special databases, for later reference then shut off his datapad. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to be alone, with nothing to care about except his thoughts.

Venting, Breakdown stood and walked away from the archive room, heading out of Dreadwing's headquarters for an aimless drive.

* * *

"So, Decepticons now are forced to wear tracking devices?" Dreadwing asked as he flew beside Breakdown, wingtips nearly touching Breakdown's roof.

"Apparently," Breakdown growled.

Dreadwing shifted over Breakdown's roof, angling beside Breakdown with a thrum of his engine. "We must take extra care to-"

Dreadwing's words were cut off by a sudden explosion, the blue Seeker's form crashing into Breakdown. The force of Dreadwing smashing into Breakdown sent both flying, Breakdown crashing into the ground and sliding for a bit till he ground to a halt. Breakdown tried to stand but he could not move for Dreadwing's weight.

"Dreadwing, get  _up_ ," Breakdown gasped, servos pushing against the Seeker's chassis.

Dreadwing made no movement and, only after Breakdown shifted Dreadwing, did he notice the gaping hole in Dreadwing's chest plate.

"Dreadwing?"

"Well, look who it is." Breakdown snapped his gaze away from Dreadwing's wound, optic narrowing on the three mechs standing above him.

_Arcee, Iceblaze and Lunarshift_.

Iceblaze transformed her right cannon servo back into her normal servo, joy smoldering in her optics.

"Isn't this just thrilling, Breakdown?" Iceblaze giggled, digits latching onto his helm tightly as she glared down at him,"We find you  _and_ Dreadwing together, at the same time? What an  _excellent_ catch!"

Lunarshift said nothing as she looked down at Breakdown, her digits tapping her arm plates irritably.

Arcee looked away from Breakdown the moment his optic turned to her, the small two-wheeler tightening her arms over her chest plate.

Iceblaze tanked Breakdown's helm back to her, hatred smoking in her optics as she lowered her gaze to glare directly at Breakdown.

"You aren't escaping us any longer, Breakdown," she hissed, "and you friend here looks like he isn't going to make it much longer."

Lunarshift moves over to Breakdown, servos lifting Dreadwing off of Breakdown's chassis. Dreadwing's helm hung, streaks of Energon pooling from his mouth and chest wound. Breakdown attempted to lunge for the injured Dreadwing but a gun to his helm stopped him.

"Sorry, Breakdown," Arcee said quietly, her gun servo pressed against his helm, "we have to bring you in. You lack a tracker and thus we have to bring you and Dreadwing in to get trackers."

Breakdown glowered at Arcee, who looked away from him once more, as he snarled at her. "And this is alright to you, Arcee? Tracking someone's everyday life just because they were a  _Decepticon_? Where is that 'Autobot righteousness' you and the others preached for so long? Or did  _that_ only count for Autobots?"

"I'm sorry, Breakdown," was all Arcee had to say, her gaze shifting away from him once more.

"Let's get you home," Iceblaze simpered, dragging Breakdown to his pedes, her clawed servos digging into his connector joints.

Breakdown did not fight Iceblaze as she began to drag him away, his optic locked onto Dreadwing, now held between Lunarshift and Arcee. He only hoped Dreadwing would live.

* * *

Breakdown sat in his cell, helm turned down, optic and spark dull. He had not moved since being thrown into the cell by Iceblaze, thoughts overcome by worry for Dreadwing.

It had been three days and he had heard nothing of the Seeker's condition, and he could only speculate.

The sound of a door creaking open drew Breakdown's gaze towards his cellblock's only door. It had been cracked open and, standing in the The frame of the door, was Arcee.

The petite Autobot walked over to Breakdown's cell, her optics shifting over him.

"Breakdown-"

"Why even come here, Arcee?" Breakdown interrupted quietly.

"I," Arcee hesitated, servos clenching around the steel bars of Breakdown's cell. "I am sorry about what is going to happen to you. Laws change and you just happened to be on the wrong side of the law this time."

"Oh, Arcee," Breakdown chided, "don't lie to yourself. I know you have hated me since I asked for shelter with you and your Autobot pals. You distrust the idea of someone who was a Decepticon being capable of doing good. You aren't sorry."

"But-"

"There is nothing you can say that will mean anything to me at this point," Breakdown mused softly, "I've lost everything and you wish you had everything."

Arcee backed away as Breakdown continued to speak, her servos clenching into fists as a spark of anger flared in her optics.

"Very well," the two-wheeler hissed, turning her back on Breakdown as she storms out of his cell block.

Breakdown watched her go then once more stared into space, thoughts darkening with hate and hopelessness.

* * *

_Ten Years ACR…_

Breakdown stared at the dusty sheen of his paint, servo twisting slightly as he laid on his back in his cell. Months after his and Dreadwing's capture and still Breakdown was locked up in the same cell, still without news of Dreadwing's condition.

Breakdown could feel only apathy towards everything now - everything but the faint sense of pain for Dreadwing - apathy to his situation included. He had been trapped for so long in the prison cell he had forgotten what it felt like to transform and drive freely. The prison stripped all prisoners of their ability to transform by placing special restraining devices in their hard drives, a procedure that Breakdown had been forced to be awake during.

Arcee has been the last mech to visit him - Iceblaze's routine jaunts to his cell to mock him did not count as  _visits_ \- and he almost wished for company.  _Almost_.

The creak of a door pulled Breakdown's attention away from his thoughts, optic shifting to his left where the sound of pedes shifting came to a halt. Standing in front of Breakdown's cell was Lunarshift, the parliament member's optics narrowed at Breakdown.

"You are going to be moved to a new cell block today," Lunarshift growled, "so don't think of trying to escape when our officers move you."

"Oh, don't worry," Breakdown yawned, "I'm not going anywhere. I mean, where in the stars could I go? You have me trapped, Primus knows where, and I am not dumb enough to think I can escape from here."

Lunarshift let out a  _hmf_ and turned away, walking out of the empty cell block with another word.

Breakdown watched her leave for a few nanoseconds then returned to staring at the ceiling of his cell, any hope of getting out of the prison drowned away.

* * *

_Twelve Years ACR…_

Breakdown paced restlessly in his cell, shoulder plate spikes brushing against the low ceiling. His "new" cell was inadequately small, especially for a mech of his stature, claustrophobic even, to an extent. The cell he now resided in was made of hard, impenetrable steel and lacked all outside vision but for two small, barred windows.

"Get out of my way!" The harsh bark of a voice, originating from outside Breakdown's cell, stopped him mid pace. Breakdown tilted his helm and listened.

"Sorry, Iceblaze!"

"Don't apologize you daft idiot, move! I want no one in this room but me!"

"Uh, yes sir, sorry sir!" The sound of a chair scraping and then a door slamming shut were the only noises in Breakdown's cell before it grew quiet once more,

Breakdown turned towards the steel door that led into - or out of - his cell, and waited. A few nanoseconds passed then Breakdown heard a rattling at his door and it opened.

Breakdown instinctively stepped away from the door, watching as Iceblaze strolled into his cell. Her optics roamed about Breakdown's cell before stopping on him.

"How have you been enjoying your stay here, Breakdown?" Iceblaze asked, servos gesturing around his cell.

"I haven't," Breakdown hissed, earning a raised optic ridge from Iceblaze.

"That is really too bad, Breakdown. This is such a  _nice_ place."

"Sure," Breakdown agreed sarcastically.

Iceblaze ignored Breakdown's sarcastic reply, opting instead to walk around Breakdown, servos prodding at his chassis. Breakdown glared down at the Autobot as she continued to poke and prod him, but did nothing. Breakdown couldn't do anything to Iceblaze even if he wanted to - and he  _wanted_ to - for, not only could he not transform but he knew that there was always someone watching him through security cameras. Attacking Iceblaze wasn't worth it.

"You know, Breakdown," Iceblaze hissed, "I'm glad we caught you. After you pal Dreadwing killed Metalflash, the ADEG was disbanded. Radiance wanted to keep the ADEG alive but he got outvoted, thanks to Bumblebee and Predaking.

"Not only did you take the ADEG from me, Breakdown, but you - and Dreadwing - took Metalflash from me. I have been wanting to pay you back for that for years." Iceblaze glowered at Breakdown as she spoke, red optics burning with unrelenting hatred.

Breakdown did not respond to Iceblaze's threats - not because he didn't believe her, he knew full well she wasn't lying, he just didn't care. He didn't even care about his plight anymore - he was locked up and never going to get out - and the only thing Breakdown cared about was possibly, likely, dead.

"Breakdown?" Iceblaze waved a servo in front of his optic, his optic turning down to the black jet boredly. "You in there?"

Breakdown ignored Iceblaze, who finally let out a vent of frustration.

"You are so boring," Iceblaze grumbled, "you aren't even worth my time anymore."

Breakdown suddenly snatched Iceblaze's arm in one servo, yanking her back before she could leave.

"What happened with Dreadwing?" Breakdown hissed, optic flaring down at Iceblaze.

Iceblaze tried to pull her arm out of Breakdown's grasp, but he only tightened his grip on her arm.

"Dreadwing," he snarled at Iceblaze, who shot him a hateful look.

"Him? Why do you care?"

"Because he was my ally," Breakdown growled, grip triggering on Iceblaze's arm further as she contained to fail to answer him.

Iceblaze glowered at Breakdown for another moment then, with a jagged smile, said, "He died years ago."

Breakdown hid his shock from Iceblaze, slowly releasing his hold on the Autobot.

"Good riddance to you," Iceblaze snarled as she whipped away from Breakdown and stormed out of Breakdown's cell.

Breakdown watched her leave then, with a broken vent, collapsed to his cell berth. His servos threaded over his helm, optic shuttering closed as sat on his berth and felt his spark darken with despair.

* * *

_Twenty Years ACR…_

Breakdown stared at the ceiling of his cell lifelessly, spark long lost of all feeling. He had no idea how long he had been imprisoned for - not that it mattered, he was stuck here - and he had not had any visitors in ages. Breakdown's voice box crackled with disuse the few times he did speak now and, even then he spoke very few words. What was there to say, anyways?

And that was not all that had changed about him in his time of imprisonment. While, in the beginning of his time in prison, Breakdown had itched and ached to transform, to feel free for even a small amount of time, now he didn't.

His processor no longer begged for the feeling of transformation and his chassis no longer itches for the feeling of shifting metal. He couldn't even really remember what transforming felt like nor, he knew, would he ever again.

Light thuds of pedes against steel outside of Breakdown's cell offered him a distraction from his thoughts. His optic shifted to his cell door, pedes moving slowly as he strode to his pedes. He was mildly curious about who could be lingering outside his cell for he knew it was not a guard checking in on him because a guard already had a little bit ago.

The pedes faded further down the cell block then returned and passed his cell.

_Odd_.

"Who is there?" Breakdown asked, his voice cracking with rust.

There was no answer for a few moments then, with a strangled gasp, true pedes returned in front of his cell. Suddenly he heard the door being jiggled about and, when a frustrated snarl came from the unknown voice, Breakdown started to step back slowly.

After a few more moments of the voice swearing at his door, Breakdown heard a blast and then the door was thrown open. In the door frame stood Arcee, her blue optics wide as she stared at him.

"Breakdown?!" Arcee gasped, pedes scrambling as she ran up to him, gaze flickering around the room warily. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I was arrested," Breakdown said, "you were there, you should know."

"No," Arcee gasped, wing kibble rigid on her back, "I mean why are you still in prison? You were released years ago!"

Breakdown stared at Arcee, optic ridge raised in disbelief, "Yeah, no. I've been here since you and your officer buddies arrested me."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Arcee grumbled, more to herself than Breakdown. "Why would the official Parliament papers say you were released if you weren't?"

"Maybe because they're liars?" Breakdown grumbled, "What does it matter? I'm stuck here and I'm never going to get out."

Arcee's optics shifted away from Breakdown, her digits tapping at her chin before she suddenly looked back at him. "I-"

The sudden slam of the cell block door cut off what Arcee was going to say, the small blue Autobot flinching backwards, her backstrut pressing suddenly against Breakdown's arm.

"Its really too bad we can't execute Breakdown privately." Breakdown immediately recognized Iceblaze's voice through his open cell door.

Helm snapping to Arcee, Breakdown shoved her under his berth without explanation, hurriedly closing his cell door before he positioned himself in front of his berth to hide Arcee from Iceblaze and her companion.

Only a nanosecond after Breakdown had positioned himself did he hear Iceblaze unlock his cell door and push it open. Breakdown tensed and watched Iceblaze and a mech he did not recognize enter his cell.

"What is it this time, Iceblaze?" Breakdown asked, hoping that his words would not betray the panicked feeling choking at his spark.

_If they find Arcee we are_ both  _dead!_

"Just coming to tell you that you will finally be getting out of here. Tomorrow you will be released," Iceblaze explained, her companion nodding slowly along with her words.

Breakdown narrowed his optic at Iceblaze, shifting his weight once more to ensure that Arcee stayed hidden from both mechs. "And why now?"

"Because our Parliament has finally found enough evidence to say that you are not an antagonistic Decepticon."

"I'm  _not_ a Decepticon," Breakdown grumbled quietly, more to himself than to Iceblaze or the other mech.

Iceblaze ignored what he said with a dismissive flick of her servo, turning to her companion with a bored vent. "Tomorrow morning you will be led to the court of the Parliament and tried for sentencing. You needn't worry yourself though, your sentence sounds like it will be a fair one."

"Whatever you say," Breakdown agreed, "is that all?"

"Yes," Iceblaze said slowly, optics narrowing slightly towards him before she gave a shrug of her shoulder plates, "good luck tomorrow."

With that, Iceblaze and her companion turned and walked out of Breakdown's cell, without locking the door behind them.

Arcee crawled out from Breakdown's berth, shaking herself for a moment before she looked towards Breakdown. "Breakdown…"

"I know," Breakdown hissed, feeling for the first time in forever actual rage and emotion as he looked down at Arcee, "I'm dead after tomorrow, and I have done  _nothing_ to justify my death. If only Dreadwing had the same chance as I did of living-"

"What? What do you mean? Dreadwing isn't dead," Arcee said, confusion darkening her optics, "Why would you assume that?"

"Because that's what Iceblaze told me," Breakdown said slowly, "but, Dreadwing isn't dead?"

"Exactly. I," Arcee hesitated, "I snuck him out of the prisoner quite a few years ago after we arrested Dreadwing and you. Knock Out was able to save his spark and, since then, Dreadwing has been in hiding at the Autobot headquarters with us."

Breakdown didn't know what to say, though he felt a lightness in his spark knowing that his friend was still alive. "I'm glad to know that Dreadwing is alive."

"Yes," Arcee muttered, her optics narrowing on Breakdown, "But what do we do about you? It is pretty obvious that the Parliament is going to kill you tomorrow. I-"

Breakdown turned on Arcee, who shuddered and stopped when his optic landed on her, "Tell Bumblebee to ask Dreadwing about the archives. That is all I can hope for."

Arcee backed away from Breakdown and, for a brief nanosecond, Breakdown thought he saw sadness flash through Arcee's optics before she bolted out the cell door, leaving Breakdown behind.

* * *

Breakdown walked down a hallway, servos handcuffed, surrounding on all sides by Parliament Enforcement agents, their guns trained on him. One agent signaled Breakdown to enter through a large set of doors, doors he vaguely recognized from many, many years ago.

Breakdown looked at the agents then walked into the room, helm turning up to the encircling Parliament members all glowering down at him.

Radiance's optics narrowed as Breakdown shot the golden colored Autobot a glare though, with a flick of his golden servo, Radiance looked away from Breakdown.

"Member of the Parliament, we are all gathered here for a trial once more, this time for someone who murdered one of our own Parliament Guards. Some of you may remember Breakdown from his trial nearly nineteen years ago. He was tried their for his war crimes  _and_ murdering an innocent Autobot. Now, once again, he is here for murder."

Hisses and jeers followed Radiance's words, most Parliament members sending Breakdown nervous, scathing or hateful looks. Breakdown glared back at all of them, incensed by the ridiculous claims of Radiance.

Radiance silenced the room then began speaking once more, though Breakdown tuned him out as he looked around the Parliament court room. He stopped when he spotted Ultra Magnus aloe.

_Where is Bumblebee?_

Ultra Magnus seemed to notice Breakdown, his optics shifting to Radiance then back to Breakdown, helm jerking to the door. Breakdown could not decipher what Ultra Magnus was trying to get across to him and, when he heard Radiance call his name, Breakdown's snapped his attention back to the leader of the Parliament.

Radiance looked down at Breakdown, a grim smile arching over his faceplate as he leaned on his servos. "Do you have anything to say before the Parliament decides on your fate, Breakdown?"

"If I did," Breakdown snapped, "you would ignore it anyways, so no."

"Very well," Radiance said cheerily, his gaze turning to the gathered Parliament members, "You have all heard and sen evidence of what this Decepticon has done, so now I ask for you to decide what his fate from here on out shall be."

"I say we  _terminate_ him," Lunarshift suggested, her expression smug as she looked down at Breakdown. Murmurs of agreement from the rest of the Parliament, aside from Ultra Magnus and Predaking, followed her words.

"Then it is decided," radiance snapped, leaping down from his post to land on the ground in front of Breakdown, "he shall be-"

"Wait!" The sound of Bumblebee's shout snapped Radiance and Breakdown's gazes to the back of the Parliament courtroom, where the yellow Autobot was standing. "Enough of the lies, Radiance."

Radiance's optics shifted nervously for a nanosecond then recovered as he shot Bumblebee a wide smile, "What are you talking about Bumblebee? Are you unwell?"

"I am  _fine_ ," Bumblebee replied, voice edged with anger, "but I need to know the truth, Radiance. What have you been hiding from Cybertron's people?"

"Hiding?" Radiance looked offended but Breakdown had also noticed the flash of fear that sparked through the Parliament leader's optics with Bumblebee's words. "I hide nothing, Bumblebee. Everything I do, I do for our people-"

"By  _killing_ former Decepticons, Radiance? The war is  _over_  and we have to move on from our former division!" Bumblebee growled, gaze snapping to the gathered Parliament members. "Radiance has abused the power his was gifted by the public since he gained office, and I implore all of you to listen to me."

"What are you talking about, Bumblebee?" Radiance scoffed, "I'm not entirely convinced you haven't gone nuts, maybe you step outside for some air?"

"No!" Bumblebee snarled, anger burning in his blue optics, "I  _know_ what you have done to the Decepticons living on this planet, Radiance, but do anyone else in the Parliament know? Know how you sent your own personal bodyguards to  _murder_ innocent Autobots so you could blame former Decepticons as the killers? Or how you are the one who had the guard here killed today, just so you could frame Breakdown?"

Radiance's optics snapped between Breakdown, Bumblebee and the Parliament swiftly, his voice stumbling over his words, "You lie, Bumblebee! I believe in the protection and safety of our citizens, why would I ever have Cybertronians killed?"

"I don't know," Bumblebee growled, "why don't you ask  _him_." With that, Bumblebee turned and pointed behind him where, from the courtroom door stepped Dreadwing.

The blue Seeker walked up to Bumblebee, optics shifting to Breakdown for a brief moment before he sent a cold glare to Radiance. Radiance stepped back, jaw clenching as he stared at Dreadwing.

"How? He died!"

"No, Dreadwing did not," Bumblebee snapped, "he was saved by someone from my team. He has information  _everyone_ will want to hear."

Dreadwing stepped forward, walking up to Breakdown to glare down at Radiance for a moment before he looked around at the gathered Parliament.

"For many years I have researched the disappearances and mysterious deaths of Cybertronians, Decepticon  _and_ Autobot alike, and I have learned much," Dreadwing said, his voice carrying throughout the courtroom, which was stone silent.

"Radiance has been the main source for most, if not all, of the deaths recorded on our planet since it was revived by Team Prime, the Predacons  _and_ former Decepticons." Dreadwing snapped open his servo, revealing a single, glowing datapad, "You need only look at this to understand what your 'fair' leader has been doing."

Dreadwing tapped the datapad and watched as a huge display of graphs and statistics projected from the datapad. Breakdown turned his gaze up to the display and let out a slight chuckle.  _Our work is going to pay off_.

"How can this be true?" One Parliament member gasped, her voice strung through with disbelief as she stared down at Dreadwing, Radiance, Breakdown and Bumblebee. "Why would Radiance do this?"

"Because," Breakdown snarled, drawing every gaze to him as he looked up at the Parliament, "he hates Decepticons. This Autobot here believes that ridding our planet of anymech who was once aligned with the Decepticon cause will 'cleanse' this planet."

"That isn't true!" Radiance screeched, desperation pitching through his words, "I would  _never_ do that!"

"Oh, are you certain of that," a great, booming voice snarled, drawing everyone's attention to Predaking, who had stood and was glaring down at Radiance. "My brethren have reported numerous 'strange' activities done by  _your_ guards near our lands for the past nineteen years. And do not think me blind enough to not notice how you have tried to led my brethren and myself into needless harm. A Predacon  _never_ forgets."

Radiance stumbled back as a barrage of voices began shouting at him, at Bumblebee, at everyone present in the room. Breakdown watched Radiance slowly back away in the confusion, optics shifting about the room. Snarling, Breakdown followed Radiance, Dreadwing following beside him, but before Radiance could get far, he was stopped by a gun against his helm.

"I would move no further, Radiance," Ultra Magnus warned, "I do not think running will get you far."

Radiance looked like he was going to say something but stopped when his optics fell on Breakdown and Dreadwing. "I did nothing wrong, I only wanted to prevent another war!"

"Ha," Breakdown snorted, his optic shifting to Dreadwing, "isn't that just classic? Typical 'I did it to make everything better' excuse. At least, Radiance, you admitted that you did those crimes."

"No, no! I did not!" Radiance whipped around, knocking Ultra Magnus to the ground with a hard punch as he lunged for Breakdown and Dreadwing. Breakdown stepped back, servos clenching, Dreadwing pulling his swords from his back-

A short burst of sound echoed beside Breakdown, but on his right, not his left where Dreadwing was standing, and Radiance stumbled forward. On Radiance's chest plate, right above his spark chamber was a gaping hole, Energon bleeding out of the wound, optics flickering.

Breakdown turned his helm to his left, one optic raising in surprise at the sight of Bumblebee with both servos transformed into gun alts and smoking. "Nice shot, Bumblebee," Breakdown complimented, his words drawing a surprised look from the yellow Autobot. Breakdown only shrugged in response and, to both his and Bumblebee's surprise, gave a gentle scuffle to Bumblebee's helm.

Bumblebee pushed Breakdown off but gave him a small smile before he turned to the Parliament and exclaimed to them to listen to his words. Breakdown tuned out Bumblebee and the Parliament's discussion as he turned to Dreadwing, who had his arms crossed over his chest plate and was glaring down at Radiance's body.

Dreadwing noticed Breakdown looking at him and turned to face him entirely, arms shifting to his sides as he looked down at Breakdown slightly. "I did not know of your fate, Breakdown, but I am relieved to see you alive."

"Same here, Dreadwing," Breakdown admitted, "But now, we might finally see peace on Cybertron."

"I hope so," Dreadwing said quietly, turning with Breakdown as they watched Bumblebee and the parliament continue their discussion.

* * *

_Twenty-five Years ACR…_

Breakdown slowed outside of the large building, transforming out of his alt mode with hesitation as his optic scanned the headquarters of the Wreckers. He had not returned to the Wreckers after Radiance had been exposed and Bumblebee had taken office as the President of Cybertron's new democratic society. Breakdown and Dreadwing, in those five years, had become vital parts into the deep investigation that went on after Radiance's death. In the end, Lunarshift, Iceblaze and many other mechs Breakdown had not know were tried and convicted for crimes against all of Cybertron's citizens.

Breakdown had suggested offlining them all but Bumblebee, ever the Autobot, had denied that idea and opted instead to send them to prison. Breakdown only hoped all of them would be stuck in prison forever.

Shaking himself, Breakdown strode up to the door of the Wrecker's headquarters, hesitating for a moment before he activated the buzzer.

A few nanoseconds after he did, the machine crackled and a voice, bored and irritated, said, "Yes? What do you want?"

Breakdown cracked a smile as he recognized Wheeljack's irritated tone. "Aw, Wheeljack, stuck on desk duty again?"

There was a gasp of shock on the other end of the machine and then suddenly the machine cut out. Breakdown raised an optic ridge and stared at the machine, shrugging with a exhaustive vent. He turned his back on the headquarters, helm shaking as he walked away from the Wrecker headquarters.

Suddenly, without warning, Breakdown was yanked back into the chest plate of another mech and then two thick green arms wrapped around his chassis.

"Breakdown! You're back!" Bulkhead gasped as he let go of Breakdown and moved in front of him, Wheeljack just beside the green Wrecker, both with stunned, happy expressions on their faceplates.

"Uh," Breakdown stammered, "yeah…"

Wheeljack suddenly punched Breakdown in the arm with a laugh and a wide smile. "Are you staying with us this time?"

Breakdown, stunned, looked between the two Wreckers and, with a vent he gave both a rare smile. "Yep. I'm staying this time."


	31. Epilogue (Part 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be one more chapter after this one.

_40 Years ACR…_

Cybertron was peaceful at night, with the only sound being the wind and the occasional roar of an engine. It was Breakdown's favorite time to go out on the roof of the Wrecker's headquarters and just observe his home.

Cybertron had changed in the twenty years since Radiance had been killed and Bumblebee had changed the government system.

Peace was more notably now in Cybertron, and Bumblebee and his new government had slowly begun implementing repatriations for all mechs killed directly under Radiance's rule. It was a slow process indeed but at least Cybertron was working to forge past the war and look beyond former factions.

And Cybertron's government wasn't the only thing that had changed in the last twenty years. When Breakdown had returned to the Wreckers, it had been much like when Breakdown had been around. But, when the legislation changed for all previously sponsored groups - like the Wreckers - and funding for the programs had shifted, Bulkhead and Wheeljack decided to change how their program was run.

The training had broadened with the addition of more teachers to the program, including former recruits like Clawshock, Spinout and Yosemite. Now recruits could attend classes out of their own discretion - much like a Earth college - though many classes and training were required for all recruits.

Also, the recruit program was a two year program, instead of six months, and concentrated heavily on teaching recruits new skills. Cybertronian agencies now had to undergo a far more extensive - and expensive - bidding process. Though the program had a vastly diminished number of recruits, due to the two year training, most recruits liked the new process much more. And Breakdown agreed. He vastly preferred the two year program over the six month original.

Breakdown vented slowly, optic scanning Cybertron's horizon as he turned and headed towards the roof's entrance. As he reached for the door handle, a recognizable roar of a jet engine snapped his attention behind him.

Dreadwing's alt mode slowed and, with a snap of his wings, transformed out of his alt mode. The blue Seeker landed on the headquarters roof, servos twitching as he gave Breakdown a nod.

"How have you been, Dreadwing?" Breakdown asked, watching as Dreadwing stretched and rolled out his shoulder plates.

"I have been well," Dreadwing assured, "I was flying by and figured I should check in and see what you have been up to, especially since we have not talked for a few years."

"I've been busy. The Wreckers has had quite a few of the new sparks from when Cybertron was revived join our program. They are a servo full," Breakdown explained, optic rolling at the thought of the young mechs that had joined the newest class of recruits.

"I can only imagine," Dreadwing laughed, "I remember still how Skyquake and I were when we were young. My twin was always fighting and making a mess. I can only imagine what the sparklings are like now."

Breakdown let out a snort of laughter from his vents at Dreadwing's words, not failing to notice the lightness in Dreadwing's optics as he joined in with his own laughter.

"Skyquake would run away from our home everyday and our carrier would chase after him until she was too tired to follow him. My twin did everything in his power to make her life hard," Dreadwing laughed, "he even once tried to convince a Seeker to buy him. Luckily for him, our carrier found him before that crazy old Seeker  _did_ buy him."

"Sounds like Skyquake was a pain in the tailpipe," Breakdown joked.

"He was," Dreadwing said, optics dulling as his tone grew sharp with regret, helm tilting towards the sky, "my spark aches for him everyday. I never even saw him after his unit was deployed off planet during the war. The last I ever felt of him was a brief moment of life and then the chasm of loss after the Autobots killed him."

Dreadwing suddenly smashed his servo into a portion of the roof's outer wall, a roar of anguish tearing from his engine. "And his spark will never be at rest because of that piece of worthless, Pit-spawned slag Starscream."

"At least Predaking took care of him. It was the least Starscream deserved," Breakdown growled.

Dreadwing let out an uncharacteristic laugh, though one without feeling, and turned a sad smile to Breakdown. "I still sometimes dream of stabbing my sword through that desecrator's spark chamber. I was planning on doing exactly that when I handed the Forge of Solus Prime to you and the Autobots. I am… thankful… I did not."

"As am I," Breakdown admitted quietly, "You have saved my life many times since you left the Decepticons. I owe you for that."

"No," Dreadwing said, his optics darkening as pain crept into his voice, "You need not believe that Breakdown. We both saved each other. I only wish I could have done the same for my twin."

"Dreadwing…" Breakdown muttered quietly, concern tugging at his spark as the blue Seeker looked away from him, servos clenched into fists.

After a few klicks, Dreadwing stilled and then looked towards Breakdown, an unreadable flash of  _something_ glowing in his optics. "I never thought that our planet would ever be able to create life again. I- It gives my spark joy to see that there is a possibility, a real chance, for our kind to continue. I just wish my twin could have been able to find peace in the Well of the AllSpark."

"I thought the same Dreadwing," Breakdown said quietly, "Especially after Optimus Prime destroyed the Omega Lock to save Earth. I thought I was going to be stuck on Earth, that blasted human  _infested_ planet, forever. And I am sorry about Skyquake."

"There's nothing any of us could have done to help him," Dreadwing admitted, gaze turning to Breakdown slowly.

"Still," Breakdown muttered, leaving his words unfinished.

Dreadwing scrutinized Breakdown, red optics narrowing slightly. "Breakdown… Have you been okay?"

Breakdown looked away from Dreadwing, knowing exactly what Dreadwing meant. "I've recovered, at least to a point. I- I still have nightmares of what Iceblaze and MECH did to me."

Dreadwing gently placed his servo on Breakdown's shoulder plate, optics softening as he looked at Breakdown. "Time And acceptance is the only way to heal, Breakdown, But I am always open to comms with you. If you ever just need to talk call me."

Breakdown shifted his gaze away from Dreadwing, spark aching. "Thanks, Dreadwing."

"Of course," Dreadwing said softly then, with a roar of his engine, transformed and blasted away from Breakdown.

Breakdown looked up slowly, watching Dreadwing, - his ally, his friend - leave him once again.

"Goodbye, Dreadwing," Breakdown whispered. With a tired vent and a shake of his helm, Breakdown turned and left the roof.

* * *

Breakdown awoke to a quiet buzzing from his comms, optic opening slowly as he got to his pedes with a tired vent.

"Yes?" Breakdown yawned as he activated his comms, "What do you want?"

" _Uh, Bumblebee has just contacted us and he wants you, me and Bulk to head over to their headquarters,"_ Wheeljack explained, Breakdown could practically hear the shrug in Wheeljack's voice.

"Any idea why?"

" _Nope, just that he seemed awfully cheery when he talked with Bulk."_

"Ugh, fine," Breakdown grumbled, "I'll be down there in a bit."

Breakdown shut off his comms with a roll of his optic then headed down to the main hall of the Wreckers headquarters.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. Bumblebee contacted Bulkhead and said 'come over to my place' but didn't say why? Typical Autobots," Breakdown groused as he, Bulkhead and Wheeljack drove towards Team Prime's headquarters.

Wheeljack reeved up beside Breakdown, mirrors tilting towards him with a quiet laugh. "What can you expect, Breakdown? Bee's most likely hoping to surprise us with some silly party again."

"I hope not," Breakdown growled, "I would hate to be woken up in the morning just for a party. I  _hate_ parties,"

"Oh, we know that, Breakdown," Bulkhead snorted, "just give Bee a chance. He might legitimately have something interesting for us this time."

"Sure," Breakdown and Wheeljack both scoffed at the same time. Wheeljack let out a light laugh at his and Breakdown's mutual agreement.

Breakdown gave a chuckle of his own as he drove beside Bulkhead and Wheeljack. His spark felt light whenever he was with his fellow Wreckers - his  _friends_. It had taken Breakdown a long time to accept that he saw Wheeljack and Bulkhead as his friends once again, a prospect he had once thought never possible, but he was  _relieved_ to have a genuine friendship once again.

Breakdown still enjoyed Wheeljack's company more than Bulkhead's, mainly for the fact that he had more easily gotten along with Wheeljack back when he had been on Earth with Team Prime. Not that he didn't tolerate Bulkhead, he did  _now_ , he just enjoyed Wheeljack's brasher attitude than Bulkhead's overly watchful attitude.

"Hey, Breaky, get your helm out of the atmosphere, we're almost to Team Prime's headquarters," Wheeljack said beside Breakdown, drawing Breakdown's attention away from his thoughts.

"Yea," Breakdown cheered unenthusiastically, "More time with Team Prime."

Wheeljack cut off his snort when Bulkhead gave both a growl of his engine.

"Stop being such aftheads you two," Bulkhead grumbled.

Wheeljack tilted his mirror towards Breakdown then, after a brief few nanoseconds, both let out a raucous round of laughter.

"'Oh, don't be so  _rude_ ," Wheeljack cackled, mimicking Bulkhead's voice to the uncontrolled laughter of Breakdown. "'You're both so mean to Team Prime! Boohoo!'"

Breakdown glanced over to Bulkhead and then let out a chassis rattling laugh at Bulkhead's furious expression.

"Seriously, guys," Bulkhead grumbled, "would you quit that?"

"Ah, fine, Bulk," Wheeljack said, though the way he looked towards Breakdown meant that the white Wrecker would do everything  _but_ stop.

Before Wheeljack could tease Bulkhead anymore though, the trio of Wreckers pulled to a stop in front of Team Prime's headquarters. Breakdown slowed and stopped behind Bulkhead and Wheeljack, staying in his alt mode a few nanoseconds longer than his two companions did.

He had not been to Team Prime's headquarters often and he could not help but feel a wave of unease nudge at his spark for a moment.  _The Autobots aren't going to do anything to you, Breakdown. They are your allies_ , Breakdown thought with a shake of his helm.

Breakdown transformed out of his alt mode, rolling and stretching out his shoulders with a slight wince.

"Come on," Bulkhead urged, signaling for Breakdown and Wheeljack to follow him. Breakdown shifted his gaze to Wheeljack for a nanosecond then followed Bulkhead into Team Prime's headquarters.

The headquarters was painted a bright white, and there were pictures - both from Cybertron and Earth - hung against the walls. Bulkhead stopped at a large desk and pressed a small device on the desk.

" _State your name, affiliation and business, please,"_ a synthesized voice said from the device.

"Bulkhead, Wreckers, on request of Bumblebee," Bulkhead stated.

" _Thank you, your request has been logged. Please wait here until a representative of Team Prime receives you."_

The synthesized voice faded and left the room in silence once more.

"Warm greeting they've got," Breakdown said sarcastically, optic rolling.

Bulkhead glowered at Breakdown, then let out a grumble of irritation and turned away from Breakdown. Breakdown raised an optic ridge and glanced over to Wheeljack, who shook his helm at Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead, you came!" Bumblebee shouted from above Breakdown and the others.

Breakdown looked up, spotting Bumblebee staring down at them from a level above them. Bumblebee wheeled around from the railing he was leaning on and, a few nanoseconds later, appeared on the same floor as Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead.

Bulkhead pulled Bumblebee against his chest plate in a giant hug, Bumblebee letting out a joyful laugh as his gaze turned to Breakdown and Wheeljack. Bulkhead lowered Bumblebee to the ground slowly and then Bumblebee walked over to Breakdown and Wheeljack.

"Breakdown, Wheeljack. I am glad to see both of you here," Bumblebee said, "especially you, Breakdown. I figured Wheeljack would come with Bulkhead but I was quite unsure of whether you would come or not."

"Wheeljack begged me to come," Breakdown admitted, "said he'd need somebody 'fun' to chat with."

Bumblebee gave a soft laugh and shook his helm at Breakdown and Wheeljack. "I'm glad to see you guys getting along now. The Wreckers are better united than divided against each other."

"Yes…" Breakdown agreed quietly, optic shifting away from Bumblebee as eon old memories of the original Wreckers clawed at his processor.

Breakdown felt a light tap on his shoulder plate, snapping him from his thoughts to Wheeljack signaling Breakdown to follow him. Venting, Breakdown followed Wheeljack, who was walking behind Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

The group walked down hallway after hallway, going further into Team Prime's headquarters until the group reached a large set of doors. Bumblebee turned around to Breakdown and the others with a smile cracking across his faceplate.

"Come in," Bumblebee said softly as he pushed open the door to all of Team Prime - surprisingly even Ultra Magnus and Knock Out.

Breakdown glanced at the gathered members of Team Prime then back to Bulkhead and Wheeljack. Both walked into the room after Bumblebee, Breakdown following a nanosecond after the two.

"Hey, Bulk!" Arcee called, giving a small wave of her servo.

"Good to see you Arcee!" Bulkhead said happily as he ran over to Arcee, snatching the small two wheeler in a tight hug.

Wheeljack didn't rush to greet anyone, the white Wrecker hanging back beside Breakdown. Breakdown looked around the room, his optic locking onto Knock Out for a second.

Knock Out slowly walked over to Breakdown, helm tilting upwards as he stopped in front of Breakdown. "Surprised you'd come, Breakdown- but I am glad to see you again. We left on bad terms and I just think it would be… nice… to talk civilly once again."

"We are now," Breakdown said coldly, "and that is as far as we are going to go. We weren't friends before and we won't be now."

"Why?" Knock Out snapped, "Are you  _still_ upset that I did nothing to help you when MECH captured you? Is that why you are still mad at me?"

Breakdown glowered at Knock Out, refusing to answer him, to tell Knock Out the truth. The truth of his fear, his anger, his vulnerability.

"Thought so," Knock Out snapped. Without a second thought, Knock Out walked away from Breakdown, heading over to stand next to Ultra Magnus with a noticeable frown.

Breakdown vented tiredly then turned to Bumblebee, who was standing a small ways from him. Bumblebee looked like he was about to say something to Breakdown but Breakdown interrupted him with a hiss of his vents.

"Why did you invite us here, Bumblebee?"

"Good question, Breakdown!" Bumblebee said cheerily as he turned to face the three Wreckers. "I invited you three over because all of us, Team Prime, has decided to have a reunion!"

"Oh, joy," Breakdown grumbled, shooting Wheeljack a bored look, which the white Wrecker mirrored.

Bumblebee didn't seem to hear Breakdown's comment, though he was staring at Breakdown oddly. Shrugging his shoulder plates, Bumblebee turned his attention to Bulkhead.

"I believe," Bumblebee explained, "that you will be quite excited to hear what we have planned for this reunion!"

"Let me guess," Breakdown stayed sarcastically, "We all hold servos and sing and dance? No thanks."

Bumblebee glared at Breakdown, arms crossing over his chest plate, "No, Breakdown. That is  _not_ what we have planned."

"So…What?" Wheeljack asked, boredom evident in his restless moving and crossed arms.

Bumblebee looked between Breakdown and Wheeljack, optics glittering excitedly. "We are going to visit Ratchet and the humans on Earth!"

Wheeljack perked up at Ratchet's name, arms uncrossing slowly as he turned towards Bumblebee. "I'll be happy to see Ratchet again, Miko too, but Ratchet especially.  _Sunshine_ will be glad to see me too!"

"Oh, I bet he will just be  _thrilled_ ," Breakdown muttered to himself.

"Will I get to see Miko?" Bulkhead asked excitedly, optics sparking with excitement.

Bumblebee glanced over to Arcee briefly then shot Bulkhead a smile - one Breakdown could tell was fake.

"Well," Bumblebee said sheepishly, "we haven't actually contacted Ratchet yet to know if the humans are still with him."

"Brilliant idea," Breakdown snorted mockingly. Arcee, Smokescreen and Bulkhead shot Breakdown irritated glares at his words, which he shrugged off with a bored vent.

Bumblebee frowned over at Breakdown, then turned back to Bulkhead. "We want to surprise Ratchet when we go to Earth, so we decided not to contact him. When we go, if you want to come that is, we will know then of the state of our humans."

Bulkhead glanced over to Breakdown and Wheeljack, pedes shuffling for a second. "I want to go," he admitted, "But I do not know about Breakdown and Wheeljack. Will you give me a second to talk with them?"

"Sure," Bumblebee said as he ducked his he for a nanosecond then walked over to the rest of Team Prime.

Immediately, Bulkhead turned on Wheeljack and Breakdown and shot both a pleasing look. "Will you two come-"

"Why?" Breakdown asked, "Convince me why I should want to waste time on  _Earth_ of all planets, Bulkhead?"

"Uh," Bulkhead stammered, "because you will enjoy going back?"

"And  _what_ makes you think that?" Breakdown snorted, "Is it my  _obvious_ hatred for the planet? Or are just oblivious to anything that doesn't revolve around you and  _Miko_ , Bulkhead?"

Bulkhead stared at Breakdown, optics narrowing on Breakdown, a displeased frown curving down his faceplate. "For Primus's sake Breakdown! You are such-"

"Enough, both of you," Wheeljack suddenly interrupted, optics glaring at both Breakdown and Bulkhead. Bulkhead snapped his mouth shut and glowered off to a corner of the room as Wheeljack shot Breakdown a meaningful look.

Breakdown vented, grumbling to himself quietly before relenting. "Fine. I'll go to Earth, if only to talk with Ratchet again."

"And I will too," Wheeljack added, "I've missed Ratchet - and Miko, honestly."

Bulkhead sniffed in response but turned to Bumblebee, giving him a nod. Bumblebee smiled once more and, almost imperceptibly, Breakdown noticed the excited bounce to the Cybertronian leader's door kibble.

"Then," Bumblebee said, "Ultra Magnus has already agreed to stay and take over my duties while we are gone. Follow me."

Breakdown grumbled quietly - earning a hard nudge from Wheeljack - then followed after Bumblebee and Team prime as they walked down a hallway. Bulkhead, who was walking beside Breakdown, was wringing his servos together excitedly.

Breakdown rolled his optic at Bulkhead, then stopped suddenly as Bumblebee and Team Prime rounded a corner and stopped inside a vast room, larger than the  _Nemesis_ 's bridge, with an enormous Space Bridge in the middle of it.

"Whoa," Wheeljack gasped beside Breakdown as he stared up at the Space Bridge. Arcee, Smokescreen and Knock Out moved past Breakdown and Wheeljack, leaving just Bumblebee beside both Wreckers.

Breakdown stared at the Space Bridge, shock stiffening through his chassis as he turned to Bumblebee slowly. "How did you acquire a Space Bridge? It was documented in Radiance's files that  _all_ Space Bridges were destroyed when he took control."

"Not all," Bumblebee said, a sly smile arching over his faceplate, "this one here was gifted to us."

Breakdown scrutinized Bumblebee, gaze shifting between him and the Space Bridge. "Gifted? By who?"

Bumblebee turned to Breakdown, blue optics narrowing slightly as he sifted his helm towards the Space Bridge. "Dreadwing. He had a Space Bridge hidden for years in his home and, when Arcee rescued him from Iceblaze's prison, Dreadwing allowed us to take the Space Bridge. It took us  _ages_  but we finally were able to stabilize the Space Bridge. And now we can use it."

"So you decided to go back to Earth," Breakdown realized quietly, gaze shifting away from Bumblebee uncomfortably.

"Yes, all of us in Team Prime decided that was what we wanted to test out," Bumblebee explained, servo pointing to mechs gathered near the Space Bridge. "It was an idea all of us believed we should participate in. Even you."

"Why me?" Breakdown asked genuinely, "I never was a part of your happy little Autobot group, no matter how long I spent with you. Why would you bother with inviting me to  _this_?"

"Because," Bumblebee said distantly, "you are one of us, Breakdown."

"No, I am not," Breakdown snapped.

"But, you are, Breakdown," Bumblebee assured, "even if you weren't an Autobot by faction, you helped us a lot when you were with us. You were brave to turn on the Decepticons and stay with your sworn enemies."

"That wasn't bravery, Bumblebee," Breakdown scoffed, "I stayed because I was  _safe_ with the Autobots. I was so afraid of MECH and the thought of being captured by them that I willingly stayed with you and your team. That is not bravery, but cowardice."

Breakdown didn't wait to hear Bumblebee's response, opting to walk away from the Autobot and stand far from the Space Bridge. Distantly, Breakdown heard Bumblebee shift towards him only to hesitate and walk up to the Space Bridge.

"If you all still want to go to Earth with me, we will leave in half an hour," Bumblebee announced, "so get what you need and be back here very soon."

Arcee looked towards Bumblebee for a moment then ran out of the room, Smokescreen following in close pursuit. Bulkhead shot Breakdown a curious look then followed after Arcee. Wheeljack, Knock Out and Bumblebee stayed put, Wheeljack yawning as Knock Out paces around the Space Bridge.

"So," Wheeljack said with utter boredom, "this plan sounds nice and all but how do you plan on coming back  _here_? I highly doubt Ratchet has a Space Bridge on Earth and its very unlikely Magnus will stand around and wait for us to comm him for a Bridge."

"No need to worry Wheeljack, we've got that issue covered," Bumblebee said as he lifted a small, portable device that Breakdown recognized immediately, "this portable control device is able to open up a Bridge wherever and whenever."

"Decepticon engineering," Breakdown said at the same time as Knock Out, both former Decepticons shooting the other raised optic ridges.

"Huh, cool," Wheeljack admitted, servos brushing against his chin as the Wrecker looked at the remote Bridge control.

"Yeah, It is pretty cool. And just another thing we owe to Dreadwing," Bumblebee laughed, "we're going to be in debt to him at this rate."

No one replied to Bumblebee and, after a good number of klicks, Arcee, Bulkhead and Smokescreen returned. With their return, Bumblebee activated the Space Bridge.

The room glowed vibrant green from the Space Bridge, the whir of the Bridge echoing through the cavernous room.

"Let's go," Bumblebee said. With one glance to the mechs gathered in the room, Bumblebee walked into the Space Bridge.

Arcee and Smokescreen walked into the Space Bridge right behind Bumblebee. Knock Out hesitated then walked through, leaving Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead in front of the Space Bridge.

Bulkhead looked back at Breakdown and Wheeljack then walked through the Space Bridge. Breakdown shared a wary glance with Wheeljack then, together, the two walked into the Space Bridge.

* * *

The Space Bridge opened to nighttime on top of a rock formation in the middle of an empty desert. Stars glittered faintly in the sky, muted by the lights of a city miles from where Breakdown and the others had Bridged to.

Uneasy, Breakdown shifted to the very back of the group, optic scanning the darkness of the desert for  _anything_.

"Now," Bumblebee intoned, "since we don't know for certain where Ratchet and the humans are, we are going to search in teams. Arcee, Smokescreen and Breakdown, you search the town. Bulkhead and Knock Out will investigate near the old silo and Wheeljack and I will check for Ratchet on the military base."

"Got it," Arcee noted, signaling towards Smokescreen and Breakdown to follow her as she transformed into her alt. Breakdown vented then transformed also, following Arcee as she carefully found a path down the mountain.

Smokescreen sidled next to Breakdown once the trio had gotten off the mountain, an excited chirp emitting from his engine. "This is going to be  _sweet_! Doc Ratch will be  _stoked_ to see us for sure!"

"Eh, not all of us, Smokescreen," Breakdown said meanly, though Smokescreen seemed oblivious to Breakdown's statement.

Arcee slowed in front of Breakdown and Smokescreen, falling in line with the two as they neared Jasper.

The city gave off a bright glow from its numerous lights, both normal and neon, flooding Breakdown's vision with irritating light. As his vision adjusted to the city's brightness, Breakdown looked around, noting the heavy traffic and towering buildings.

" _Sure isn't the Jasper we knew,"_  Arcee commentated as they drove onto Jasper's main street, clogged by cars, humans and outlet stores.

" _How are we supposed to find Ratchet in this mess?"_  Smokescreen asked nervously, alt mode shifting closer to Breakdown ever so slightly.

"Look for an ambulance," Breakdown stayed obviously.

Smokescreen grumbled under his breath at Breakdown's reply then let out a steady round of swears as they drove into a swath of unmoving traffic. Breakdown stopped behind a large truck, engine rumbling as he, Arcee and Smokescreen idled in the road.

" _Keep your optics open,"_  Arcee advised to Breakdown's right.

Breakdown tilted his mirrors slightly, watching behind him and the opposite side of the road. As he scanned behind him, Breakdown inched forward with the sluggish traffic, brakes hissing with stress from overuse.

His left mirror shifted, angling towards the crossroads behind him-

A flash of red-orange and white caught Breakdown's attention. Without hesitating, or thinking, Breakdown snapped left, cutting onto the side opposite him and gassed it through the window of space between the two traffic ladened sides of the road.

" _Breakdown? Where are you going?"_ Arcee shrieked over his comms as Breakdown shot past cars, all of whom honked indignantly at him.

Breakdown's tires screeched as he yawed left onto the road intersecting the one he had just been on, engine roaring as he shot past cars, sight locked on the orange and white form ahead of him. He was catching up to the form, which he could recognize as an ambulance, when, as he shot to the ambulance's left to flank him, the ambulance jerked left also.

Breakdown slammed on his brakes, his alt's chassis skidding, tires spinning and, with a loud crunch, Breakdown slammed sideways into the ambulance.

"Frag," Breakdown hissed painfully, the ambulance groaning as steam hissed from his orange and white hood.

" _Breakdown, what in Primus's name are you doing?"_ Arcee shrieked as she pulled up beside Breakdown, " _And you hit a civilian!"_

"He's not a civilian," Breakdown wheezed, words cut through with groans of pain, "It's Ratchet."

" _Ratchet?"_ Arcee gasped, her words only returning static from the ambulance. Arcee shot Breakdown a questioning look, her alt's mirrors lowering unhappily. " _You better not have just hit a civilian ambu-"_

Arcee's words were cut off by a sudden slam of a door, coming from the ambulance. From the driver side of the ambulance stepped a golden-haired female human, her optics livid as she glared at where Breakdown had slammed into her ambulance.

"What the hell?" The female snarled, "Ever heard of paying attention?"

"Uh, sorry!" Arcee called, her human image - she called it Sadie - astride the two wheeler's back. "My friend here doesn't always pay attention-"

"Yeah," the human snapped, "and he just hit my-"

Suddenly the human tilted her helm, optics turning to the ambulance concentratedly, almost as if she was listening to someone inside the ambulance. Slowly, the human turned and scrutinized Breakdown - who had finally pulled away from the ambulance - Arcee and Smokescreen.

The ambulance's mirrors shifted slightly, tilting towards Breakdown with a sharp gasp. The female human heard the gasp and glanced around nervously, wincing at the pile up of cars around the crash site.

"Follow me," she warned as the human clambered back into the ambulance, starting the engine with a pained stutter.

Breakdown followed after the ambulance and its driver -  _it had to be Ratchet?_ \- the right front of his chassis blazing with pained fire each time his wheels rotated. Smokescreen flanked him on the right and Arcee was just ahead to his left, all three following the ambulance.

The ambulance soon got out of the city, hitting an old underused - and unrepaired - road that led into the vast desert. But, as he followed the ambulance, Breakdown was losing speed. His chassis ached from the dents and fissures in his mesh, and rivers of pain were quickly taking over his processor.

" _Breakdown?"_  Smokescreen's voice, worried and anxious, drug Breakdown's attention to the sports car driving beside him.

"What?" Breakdown growled, a wince of pain cutting through his tone.

" _Just… Never mind."_  Smokescreen peeled ahead of Breakdown without a second glance back, leaving Breakdown trawling along slowly, in pain and deeply confused.

Breakdown, Arcee and Smokescreen followed the ambulance for three more  _groons_  until, with a twist of tires, the ambulance drew to a stop in front of a high gate. The ambulance's human said something to the guard at the gate outpost then, after only a few nanoseconds, the gates opened up.

The ambulance drove in, Breakdown, Arcee and Smokescreen following after him quietly as they drove onto the base. Helicopters, sleek cut and jet black in color, dotted the airfield and, beyond Breakdown's vision, stretched hanger after hanger building.

" _It's huge,"_  Smokescreen breathed beside Breakdown. Breakdown looked around the base, noting how few humans were visible.

"Where are the humans?" Breakdown ventured wearily, voice hollow from pain.

" _Most are currently on an operation,"_ a voice growled, his words laced with irritation.  _Ratchet_.

" _Good to hear your voice again, Ratchet,"_ Arcee said, voice crackling with joy.

Ratchet grumbled in response then slowed, turning towards an enormous hanger marked with a small, single Cybertronian symbol. The ambulance pulled into the hanger, Breakdown, Arcee and Smokescreen following him inside the building slowly.

Ratchet drew to a stop in front of a panel of massive computer screens, driver side door opening for the human to get out. The female stepped out of Ratchet and gently closed the door, optics snapping a glare towards Breakdown as Ratchet transformed out of his alt mode.

The Autobot medic looked even older, his optics dull and chassis scratched with new scars. With a wince, Ratchet rubbed at his arm plates, dented by Breakdown's collision into the medic. Ratchet didn't look towards Breakdown, opting instead to disinterestedly busy himself with his computers.

Breakdown's gaze was snapped from Ratchet when he felt steel strike against his hood. Standing in front of him was the blonde female, a wrench in her servo and fury in her optics. She pointed the wrench at Breakdown threateningly.

"You need to watch where you drive-"

"Jaya!" Ratchet snarled, whirling on the human, fury blazing through his optics as he glared down at her. "These three are fellow Autobots -  _friends_ \- and I will  _not_ tolerate you being rude to  _any_ of them."

"But," the human, Jaya, grumbled, servos jerking towards Breakdown, "he hit you-"

"On accident," Ratchet hissed, his words shutting up the human.

"Fine," the human vented moodily. Her helm hung and she stomped away from Breakdown, stopping at a large couch at the end of the hanger which she threw herself onto.

"Sorry about Jaya," Ratchet apologized tiredly, "she's young and foolish. Sometimes I wonder how she's related to Jack."

"She's Jack's daughter?" Arcee gasped as she transformed out of her alt mode and stared at ratchet, optics wide.

"Yes," Ratchet said, "Jaya is Jack's daughter. She's been interning with the unit since she graduated high school this summer. She's  _very_ annoying. At least her brother Grant is tolerable."

"Feeling's mutual grumpy!" Jaya called out, optics turning to Ratchet with a pointed huff. Ratchet rolled his optics then turned to Breakdown, Arcee and Smokescreen.

"Why are you three here? Is everything alright on Cybertron?" Ratchet asked, a note of desperation edging into his words.

"Cybertron's fine," Arcee said calmly, "all of us decided to come visit you and the humans."

"All of  _us_? Just you, Breakdown and Smokescreen?"

"We split up to look for you," Breakdown explained, biting back the wince of pain clawing through his chassis as he spoke, "we just happened to be the group to…  _run_ into you. Sorry…"

"Not your fault, Breakdown," Ratchet said dismissively, "I allowed Jaya to drive for a few moments and she did not pay attention when turning.  _Again_."

"He wasn't there when I looked!" Jaya shouted, "He came out of nowhere!"

"Jaya Sadie Darby," Ratchet breathed exasperatedly, "we've been over this many,  _many_ times. Do  _not_ argue with me."

"Whatever, old man," Jaya groaned then stormed out of the hanger, stomping past Breakdown, Arcee and Bumblebee with a short tempered huff.

A puff of laughter escaped Ratchet's vents as he watched the human stalk out of the hanger, optics turning back to Breakdown and the others. "Arcee, give the coordinates to the rest of your team. I will patch up Breakdown and myself while we wait for the others."

Arcee nodded then transformed back into her alt, screeching out of the hanger. Smokescreen looked around for a few moments then, when Ratchet said nothing to the young Autobot, began investigating the hanger.

"Come," Ratchet ordered, signaling for Breakdown to follow him. Breakdown vented then followed after ratchet, optic scanning the hanger as the medic led him to a separate room connected to the hanger. Inside was a vast assortment of medical equipment and parts for Cybertronians.

Breakdown raised an optic ridge as he looked at Ratchet's medical bay, mildly impressed by the quantity and quality of tools at Ratchet's disposal.

"Stocked up, haven't you?"

"Yes," Ratchet answered as he began pulling out tools and parts, placing some back where he had gotten them, while others he kept, "I have had some success acquiring tools for my own repairs over the years. Amazing what one can find when you have all the time in the world to do so."

Ratchet turned to Breakdown and began working on fixing the dents and scrapes in his chassis.

"So," Breakdown ventured, disturbing the quiet that had cropped up between the two, "how have you been, Ratchet?"

"Fine," Ratchet replied, welding torch slowly arching over Breakdown's arm, "And you?"

Breakdown shrugged noncommittally. "The usual."

Ratchet quirked an optic ridge at Breakdown's response, pausing in his procedure to give Breakdown a quiet, unreadable look. "Did something happen on Cybertron?"

Breakdown didn't answer, debating internally whether he should tell Ratchet though, when the old medic grumbled something under his breath unhappily, Breakdown vented. His helm shifted to the side and, with a tired voice, explained all that had happened in the forty years since Cybertron had been revived.

Ratchet listened intently to Breakdown, all the while still occupying himself with fixing Breakdown. After Breakdown finished his story, Ratchet deactivated his tools and looked away from Breakdown, a flash of regret in his optics.

"Sometimes I feel like I should have been there on Cybertron, but I couldn't. I couldn't stay there after Optimus died and I promised the humans I would stay with them here," Ratchet suddenly admitted "I couldn't bring myself to go back…"

"Ratchet, you shouldn't let yourself feel guilty about that," Breakdown said, "if staying on Earth was what you thought was best for yourself, then you made the right decision."

"But, if I had stayed on Cybertron, I could have done something-"

"And what would that have been?" Breakdown asked, optic narrowing towards Ratchet, who averted his gaze from Breakdown. "You couldn't change anything, just as much as I couldn't. It was Bumblebee who forced Cybertron to change."

Ratchet stiffened, his optics turning to Breakdown slowly with a masked expression. "Judging from what you told me, Breakdown, I would say it wasn't just Bumblebee that made the change possible. Without the information you and Dreadwing gathered, do you think Bumblebee would ever have seen the government as anything but corrupt?"

Breakdown shrugged his shoulder plates dismissively, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Ratchet's words. Ratchet let out a tired vent then walked away from Breakdown, leaving him alone in the medical bay.

Breakdown pulled himself to his pedes and followed after Ratchet, catching out to the medic with a huff of his vents. "Thank you for repairing me and, again, I apologize for ramming into you."

"It's okay, Breakdown," Ratchet said, a lightness to his voice as he gaze Breakdown a humored look. "It was nice to work on a Cybertronian again."

"Wait, what about you? I can fix you up, Ratchet," Breakdown added hurriedly, to which Ratchet only shook his helm.

"No need, I can repair myself tonight after I meet with everyone."

"Very well," Breakdown relented, nodding to one of the few Cybertronians he respected.

Ratchet paused, pedes brushing the hanger's floor and optics slowly shifting to Breakdown. "I missed you, Breakdown."

Breakdown stared at Ratchet, unsure of what to say to Ratchet's words except for a quiet, stuttered, 'uh'.

Ratchet snorted softly then walked into the main hangar bay room, leaving Breakdown to stare after the medic disbelievingly.

"Breakdown? You in there?" The sharp, mocking voice of Wheeljack pulled Breakdown from his thoughts, gaze shifting down to Wheeljack beside him.

"Yes, I'm here. Unfortunately," Breakdown joked, a light laugh escaping his mouth as Wheeljack raised a single optic edge at his words.

"Well, good, I was starting to worry since you were staring so intently after Ratchet," Wheeljack giggled, elbow jabbing into Breakdown's side teasingly. "You and Ratchet been hiding something from us?"

"What?! No!" Breakdown snapped, "I respect Ratchet. He and I are friends, not  _that_. Anyways, Wheeljack, you know full well I've never be interested in a relationship of  _that_  kind."

"Yeah, sure," Wheeljack teased, "And your night meetings with Dreadwing are what exactly? A 'buddy' meet up or something…  _more_?"

Breakdown spluttered in disbelief at Wheeljack's suggestion, voice box catching on his words. "No! Dreadwing is a close friend, Wheeljack."

_And I've never thought of Dreadwing as anything more than just my friend. Even if I did, he wouldn't be interested,_ Breakdown thought to himself, optic glowering down at Wheeljack.

Wheeljack gave him a sly smile and shrugged his shoulder plates suggestively. "Just wondering."

"Well, stop," Breakdown muttered, stomping away from Wheeljack and to the rest of the gathered members of Team Prime.

Bulkhead, Knock Out and Smokescreen nodded to Breakdown then turned back to listen to Bumblebee and Ratchet talk.

"Jack was already scheduled to come pick up his daughter in an hour. If you decide to wait until then, I know Jack will be extremely pleased to see you," Ratchet said, gaze shifting between Bumblebee and Team Prime.

"And the others?" Bumblebee breathed, "Miko? Raf?"

Ratchet shook his helm, "No. Miko is in Japan and Rafael moved away when he was seventeen. I don't know where he went or if he, or Miko, are even still alive."

"They have to be!" Bulkhead cried, "Miko can't be dead, I know it."

"Do you, really?" Ratchet hissed, voice dripping with venomous anger, "You have no  _idea_ what has happened on Earth in the forty years that have passed. Don't assume  _anything_ , Bulkhead."

"Uh, sorry," Bulkhead muttered, helm falling sheepishly at Ratchet's reprimand.

Ratchet ignored Bulkhead, turning instead to his computers. "All of you have to understand that humans age differently than us. Jack, Miko and Raf would be fifty-seven, fifty-four and fifty-three now. Their lives are quite different from when you left."

"So, Jack is the only one who still lives here in Jasper?" Arcee asked.

"Exactly," Ratchet stated, "Rafael and Miko are far from here, to the best of my knowledge."

"Then we need to find them so we can have a  _real_ reunion!" Bulkhead urged giddly, "Wheeljack, Breakdown and I can go to Japan to look for her."

"No," Ratchet growled, "you will stay here, at least until Jack arrives."

"Fine," Bulkhead pouted.

Breakdown vented then moved away from the group, stopping in a far corner of the hanger. Yawning tiredly, Breakdown slid down the wall and, without much time, nodded off.

* * *

"Breakdown, get up." Knock Out's words drug Breakdown from his half-recharge.

His optic opened slowly, revealing Knock Out's red optics mere inches from Breakdown. Breakdown pushed Knock Out away from him and stride to his pedes, rolling his shoulder plates stiffly as he looked down at Knock Out.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing much, But Bumblebee asked me to wake you since Jack will be here in a few minutes," Knock Out explained, seeming unfazed by the fact that Breakdown had pushed him. "Come on, Breakdown."

Breakdown grunted in reply and followed Knock Out to where Ratchet, Bumblebee and the others were gathered in a semi-circle. Wheeljack shot Breakdown a bright smile as he joined the gathered mechs, Ratchet jerking a stiff nod in Breakdown's direction just as the sound of a car parking outside the hanger drew everyone's attention to the hangar doors.

A few moments later a tall, dark haired man walked into the hanger, attention buried in the large datapad he was holding. His dark hair was streaked with flecks of gray and, from what Breakdown could observe, his body seemed worn with stress.

"Jack," Ratchet warned, his voice drawing a grunt from the human, who still did not look up. Ratchet grumbled and, with a pointed stomp of his pedes, snapped, " _Jack_."

That caught the human's attention, his optics turning up to Ratchet with a bored expression that froze suddenly at the sight of those standing next to Ratchet.

"Arcee? Bee? Smokescreen? Bulkhead? What- What are you doing here?" Jack gasped, dark optics wide with disbelief as he stared at the Cybertronians, mouth agape.

Arcee walked up to the stunned Jack, bending down to the human's height. "Hey Jack, good to see you again."

"Good to see you, Arcee," Jack repeated slowly, bewilderment obvious in his optics as he looked past Arcee. "Good to see  _all_ of you."

"What have you been up to lately, Jack?" Smokescreen asked to Breakdown's right.

"Uh, I've been well," Jack said, "And you guys?"

"We've been well-"

" _Dad_ ," Jaya's whining voice cut through Smokescreen's words, which earned her a glare from Smokescreen as she walked up to Jack. "Can we go home yet? I'm tired of hanging around with Grump and his buddies."

"Jaya, be respectful," Jack hissed, optics smoking with anger, "and no, we are not leaving. I want to talk with my friends. If you want so badly to go home call your mother or  _walk_ home."

Jaya opened her mouth to retort then thought better of it, her jaw snapping shut with a frustrated growl. Jack rolled his optics at his daughter then turned an apologetic gaze to Breakdown and the others.

"Seventeen year olds. A handful," Jack offered in explanation, shoulders shrugging mildly.

Breakdown snorted under his breath, optic rolling as Jack contained to talk with Team Prime, listening intently as they filled him in on what had happened in the forty years that had passed since they had last seen Jack.

Nearly a  _groon_ passed, in which every member of Team Prime - except for Knock Out - commented on their story of living on Cybertron. Breakdown had stayed silent the whole time, wishing only to hear the Autobots version of the Cybertronian government conflict.

Finally, after Jack had exhausted his questioning, Bulkhead let out a loud cough. Every helm turned to the green mech's direction as he scuffed his pedes against the ground. "Look, its nice and all to see Jack again but what about Miko? And Raf? I think we should try to find them and bring them here."

"How you going to do that?" Breakdown asked sarcastically, "Send out a flyer saying 'Autobots looking for Miko and Rafael, call this number'?"

Bulkhead narrowed his optics at Breakdown. "No. I imagine Jack has some information on both of them-"

"Not much," Jack interrupted, "all I know is that Miko moved to Tokyo years ago and, when Rafael moved, his family relocated to Massachusetts. Other than that I have no idea."

"Well," Bulkhead said with a note of finality, turning to Ratchet swiftly, "Wheeljack, Breakdown and I will go to Tokyo, Japan and look for Miko."

"Uh, what?" Breakdown gasped, "I didn't volunteer to go on a human hunting excursion, Bulkhead."

"I don't care," Bulkhead snapped, "you're coming whether you like it or not."

_Oh, brilliant_ , Breakdown thought sarcastically as Bulkhead hurried over to Ratchet's Ground Bridge controls and began fiddling with it. Wheeljack nudged Breakdown lightly and shot him a bored, irritated look. Breakdown frowned and nodded, agreeing fully with Wheeljack's unspoken meaning.

* * *

Ratchet's Ground Bridge dropped Breakdown, Wheeljack and Bulkhead down in an alley, illuminated by neon light.

Bulkhead, who seemed to almost be jumping up and down in excitement as he turned to Wheeljack and Breakdown. "We will split up, cover more ground to see if we can find Miko."

"Don't forget," Breakdown growled, "she may not want to see any of us again. It has been forty human years for them since we left and she could have changed a lot."

"She will also look different," Wheeljack stated, "so we may not recognize her even if we pass by Milo."

Bulkhead looked like he was going to complain then stopped with a vent. "Jack said this is where he last knew she lived. I will head east, Wheeljack will go north and Breakdown, you cover the south side of this city."

"Very well," Wheeljack said then, with a smooth roar of his engine, raced out of the alleyway.

Breakdown vented then moved out of the alleyway, startling back at the sight before him. The city, Tokyo, was lit entirely by neon lights and cars with treadless wheels and quiet engines raced down the roads.

Bulkhead pulled up beside Breakdown, mirrors jerking towards Breakdown. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Breakdown growled, turning into the waves of traffic, heading south.

Breakdown stayed at pace with the human driven cars, a shudder of nerves rattling through his chassis as he gazed around at the busy roads and human congested walkways. Uncomfortably, Breakdown drove through the city, engine humming in distress at the closeness of other cars and endless traffic.

_Groons_ passed and still none of the Wreckers had caught sight of someone who could resemble Miko. Breakdown had wanted to return to Ratchet and the others in Jasper, but Bulkhead had begged for him to stay so annoyingly that Breakdown gave up and decided to stay. But that meant Breakdown was stuck driving through the densely populated Tokyo.

Breakdown felt a yawn shudder through his alt's chassis, signaling his exhaustion. Deciding to take a break for a few klicks, Breakdown signaled and turned, pulling into a parking spot just large enough for him to squeeze his alt into, then shut of his own engine and felt his processor start to shut off.

Breakdown fell into a half-recharge, only distantly watching the sidewalk and road as he rested in the parking spot. Exhaustion shuddered through Breakdown's chassis but he forced himself to not fall completely into recharge, mirrors shifting to keep watch for anyone that resembled Miko.

" _How you two doing?"_ Bulkhead's voice, jarring Breakdown out of his half-recharge with a snap.

" _Fine. Nothing, just as I said the last time you asked,"_ Wheeljack snapped irritably.

"Same as usual," Breakdown replied with a yawn, "no Miko. Can't we go back to Jasper?"

" _No!"_ Bulkhead shouted, " _we keep looking for Miko!"_

"Whatever," Breakdown muttered as he shut off his comms manually.

_Maybe Bulkhead will stop pestering me now_ , Breakdown thought grumpily.

After waiting a few more klicks of pure silence from his comms, Breakdown let out a satisfied vent.

_Good_.

Breakdown's processor begged for recharge, but he still refused to allow his processor to plunge into recharge.  _Groons_ passed, enough that the city's lights were becoming a flooded out by rays of sunlight. The whole time Breakdown sat in the parking spot, humans in huge numbers passed by him.

Another rattling yawn escaped Breakdown, his optic shuttering, processor darkening-

"Yuck, look at that piece of junk truck. How old is it? A hundred years old?" A scornful mocking voice snapped Breakdown from his near recharge, mirror snapping to attention.

Three women were staring at him, one of them staring at him in disgust. The other two were looking at him curiously.

All three looked older, faceplates hard from age and stress, all had dark hair, though the one who had talked had blonde highlights in her hair. Her companions had pink and blue respectively.

One of the others, the one with the pink streaks in her ponytailed hair, stared at Breakdown closely. "It's not that bad. Trucks are  _awesome_ , though I haven't seen a model like  _this_ in years. I would buy it if its owner would let me."

"Yeah, we get it. You love trucks, you used to have one that was your friend, we  _know_ ," the first woman snapped exasperatedly.

The pink haired one shot a glare at her friend, her stance tensing as she rounded on her friend. "What is your problem, Suzume?"

Suzume fumed, her dark optics narrowing as she glared at the other, "I'm not the one with the problem here, Miko-"

Breakdown stiffened, his engine letting out an uncontrolled growl that made all three women jolt away from him fearfully. The first, Suzume, had shot behind the third woman while the one called Miko was staring at Breakdown oddly.

"Breakdown?" Miko breathed, her servo brushing over Breakdown's side. "It can't be…"

Breakdown shuddered slightly as the human touched him, her optics filled with disbelief and wonder.

"Uh, why are you touching that dude's truck?" Suzume asked her friend in disbelief.

"Please, Miko, let's get out of here," the third begged.

"Yeah," Suzume snapped, "do Atsuko and I a favor and get  _away_ from the truck."

Miko leapt away from Breakdown at her friend's snarl, a disappointed scowl curving down her faceplate. "I thought for a second- Nothing, it was an accident."

She turned and walked away from Breakdown, her friends following the woman named Miko as she left. Breakdown pulled out of his parking space, following Miko and her friends as they walked down the sidewalk.

Breakdown followed after Miko and her friends, staying out of their sight but keeping them in  _his_ as he followed their path. Eventually the women waved to each other and split up. Breakdown followed the one they had called Miko -  _their Miko?_ \- pulling alongside the human when she turned down a quiet, dark street.

"Miko?" Breakdown asked as she looked over at him, her optics shifting from anger to bewilderment in nanoseconds.

"Stop stalking me. I'm sorry I touched your truck," Miko snapped at him, her voice tinged with venom that made Breakdown flinch slightly.

"Miko, it's Breakdown," he said hurriedly, pulling up onto the curb in front of Miko.

"What is your problem, dude? Leave me alone!" Miko snapped, optics narrowing into a glare as she tried to walk around him.

Breakdown let out a frustrated snarl from his engine then transformed out of his alt mode, bending down on one knee to look down at Miko. Her optics grew huge as she stared at Breakdown, a wide smile arching over her faceplate as she stared at him, stunned.

"Breakdown! How- I- Are- I'm so glad to see you!" Miko said swiftly, her enthusiasm just the same as when she was young.

"Good to see you, nuisance," Breakdown joked, scuffling Miko's helm lightly to her amusement.

"Okay," she suddenly said, "But why are you back on Earth? Did something happen to Cybertron?"

"Cybertron is fine," Breakdown said as he transformed back into his alt mode, cracking open his passenger door to Miko. "Get in."

Miko hesitated for a second then, with a youthful smile, leapt up into Breakdown's passenger seat. Breakdown shivered for a second when she settled herself down but he fought his discomfort off as he activated his engine and pulled out of the alleyway.

"Bulkhead, Wheeljack, I got her," Breakdown informed as he reactivated his comms system.

" _Miko? You have Miko?"_ Bulkhead immediately replied, voice screeching over Breakdown's comm system.

"Yes, Bulkhead, I have Miko. I'll send you my coordinates," Breakdown said as he pulled into a tight parking space against a curb. Breakdown shut off his comms then sent both Wheeljack and Bulkhead his coordinates.

Miko had stayed quiet the whole time when, with a quiet vent, she brushed her servos along Breakdown's dashboard.

"So, how have you been? It's been forty years, I can only imagine something interesting has happened since you and the rest went back to Cybertron."

"Cybertron had some troubles politically," Breakdown said sagely, "But it's a little better now."

"That's good, but how about you? And Bulk? And Wheeljack?" Miko asked as she leaned back against Breakdown's passenger seat.

"Wheeljack and Bulkhead have be just fine. They revived the Wreckers and now it's a program that Cybertronians can join if they wish. Bulkhead's missed you, Wheeljack too," Breakdown explained, attention switching between Miko and the road, looking for Wheeljack and Bulkhead.

As Breakdown watched the road he heard a jarring noise and snapped his attention back to Miko, who had a mischievous grin on her face plate and was rolling his passenger window up and down.

"Stop messing with me," Breakdown snarled at Miko, his words stopping her from rolling up his window  _again_.

"Sorry," Miko muttered angrily. With an irritated snort aimed in his direction, Miko leaned on his door, arms crossed over the other as she stared at the city.

Breakdown said nothing to Miko as he was irritated with her, and she said nothing to him. The silence stretched between the two until suddenly Breakdown heard Miko let out a string of swears.

"Miko?" Breakdown questioned, right mirror twisting to see what Miko had sworn at.

Down the sidewalk was a man running towards Breakdown, shouting Miko's name as he shoved through the crowd. Miko immediately shot back into Breakdown's passenger seat, desperately rolling up his window as she began to mutter furiously.

The man skidded to a stop beside Breakdown and rapped at his window harshly. Breakdown felt a snarl rip from his engine as the human continued to pound on his window.

Rage itched at his chassis like fire, and he could not ignore how much he wanted to activate his cannon and shoot the annoying, irritating peat of a human-

"Breakdown, don't do it," Miko warned with a hiss, her words snapping Breakdown back to his senses.

Breakdown quieted, the light rumble of his engine the only sign of how annoyed he was as the human contained to pound on his window.

"Miko! Come on, let's talk!" The human called.

"No, Hayato, I've said it  _many_ times, I'm not interested!" Miko shouted, servos tightening as she glared away from the man.

"But, you need me now! You can't keep going like this without a steady job. I can support you!"

"I don't need support!" Miko shrieked, her voice rising in pitch as the man continued to pound on Breakdown's window.

Breakdown decided he'd had enough. With a roar of his engine and a split second decision, Breakdown jerked his entire alt's chassis against the man's body.

The man let out a gasp of pain and fell to the cement sidewalk, wailing in pain as Breakdown suddenly peeled into traffic, jerking through holes in the traffic that no human could maneuver through.

Miko let out a laugh as Breakdown continued to race through traffic, pulling off o to a highway to escape the city. "That was awesome, Breakdown!"

"Whatever," Breakdown grumbled, "I just hated having that human continue hitting me. He's lucky I didn't vaporize him with my cannon."

"Now that would have gotten us into a lot of trouble," Miko laughed, "not that I wouldn't have minded seeing Hayato get vaporized. He's been a pain in my ass for the last twelve years. Thanks for getting me away from him."

"You're welcome," Breakdown replied softly, surprised at Miko's words. Miko looked at Breakdown funny then suddenly let out a small 'ohh'.

"What about Wheeljack and Bulkhead? You just left the coordinates you gave them-"

"I already updated them on the situation and they will be with us eventually," Breakdown explained as he continued to drive down the highway.

Miko let out a small vent then leaned over Breakdown's dashboard, helm resting on her arms. "I left America twenty-seven years ago. My parents were really happy to have me back but I didn't feel the same way. Especially after I lost my leg."

"What? How?" Breakdown hissed, a unusual rush of worry digging into his spark at Miko's words.

"In an operation. Jack and I worked together awhile ago and, during one operation nearly twenty-six years ago, I lost my leg," Miko explained, her chipper tone shifting to a dark and cold tone.

Breakdown said nothing as Miko hesitated to continue, her servos tightening against his dashboard as she leaned back against his passenger seat.

"The military operation where I lost my leg was the operation that saw us finally, successfully, destroy MECH," Miko whispered, her words sending a shiver through Breakdown's the memory of MECH.

"So," Breakdown said slowly, "MECH is gone?"

"Yes. We found every cell and MECH operative and  _dealt_ with them," Miko said quietly, "My leg was blown off by an explosive device and what remained had to be amputated. Now, I've got a fake leg where I lost my original."

"I am glad MECH is gone," Breakdown rumbled to Miko softly, "though I am… sorry for the loss of your leg because of it."

"No reason to be, I knew the risks. I couldn't allow MECH to remain," Miko agreed, "even if I may have lost something for it, but it was worth it in the end."

Breakdown said nothing more to Miko as he turned down a small road off the highway and drive down it for awhile. Finally, after spotting a well secluded area, Breakdown pulled over and unlocked his doors for Miko.

Miko cracked open his passenger door but didn't get out, her gaze shifting through the trees surrounding them on all sides. Breakdown tilted his mirror slightly to watch Miko as she rubbed at her right leg with a wince and a scowl.

"You okay?" He asked Miko, who nodded in answer. Breakdown vented and waited, watching for his two companions.

Only a few klicks passed when Breakdown heard the familiar roar of Wheeljack and Bulkhead's engines. Miko seems to hear them also for she leapt up from where she was sitting on Breakdown's passenger seat and pulled herself up so she was standing on his seat and staring over his roof.

A few nanoseconds later, Bulkhead and Wheeljack raced around the corner, both slamming on their brakes to slid next to Breakdown.

"Bulk!" Miko cries out, leaping down from Breakdown as Bulkhead transformed out of his alt and picked Miko up into a gentle hug.

"Miko, I- I," Bulkhead blubbered, "I'm so happy to see you again!"

Miko said nothing to Bulkhead for she was hugging him and crying happily. Wheeljack drove over to Breakdown, stopping beside him with a light snort.

"Any guesses how much longer Bulkhead will last without crying?" Wheeljack asked, mirrors tilting towards Breakdown.

"Not much longer," Breakdown guessed, "he's such a damn softy."

"Yep," Wheeljack agreed just as Bulkhead's blubbering became unintelligible and the green Wrecker began to cry.

Breakdown glanced over at Wheeljack, who was holding back his laughs, though his alt's chassis shook slightly from the muffled laughs. Breakdown watched Bulkhead and Miko quietly, finally sending a light growl of warning to Bulkhead.

"You should stay in your alt mode, Bulkhead," Breakdown warned.

Bulkhead looked over at Breakdown then gave him a short nod before transforming back into his alt mode. Miko clambered up into Bulkhead's alt, her right foot slipping for a second before she slammed Bulkhead's door shut.

" _Okay, Miko, here's the scoop,"_ Bulkhead said, his voice crackling through Breakdown's comms, " _Jackie, Breakdown and I came looking for you because we wanted to bring you along to a reunion Team Prime, Ratchet and Jack are putting on back in Jasper. Do you want to come?"_

" _Of course! I'm not doing anything here and I have always wanted to see how old Doc Grump is,"_ Miko answered, " _let's go already!"_

" _Still have the enthusiasm of a sparkling,"_ Wheeljack noted, " _for an old human."_

" _I am_ not  _old!"_ Miko retorted, though she broke down in laughter as Wheeljack snorted disbelievingly at her.

Breakdown shifted his chassis and contacted Ratchet as Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Miko started arguing about age. Ratchet responded quickly and, only a few nanoseconds later, a Ground Bridge was opened in front of him.

"Come on, Bulkhead," Breakdown snapped before driving through the Ground Bridge.

* * *

Jack and Miko pulled away from the other's hug, Miko giving Jack a light punch in his arm. Jack smiled at Miko lightly, then turned to Breakdown and the other gathered members of Team Prime and the Wreckers.

"Bumblebee hasn't contacted us yet. We hope he will find Rafael, but we aren't to sure," Jack explained as he gestured towards Ratchet, who was busying himself with the Ground Bridge controls.

"Bee will find him," Arcee assured Jack kindly.

"I know he will," Jack said, "I just really want to see Raf again. Miko and I haven't seen him for nearly thirty years."

"Just thirty years," Wheeljack snorted beside Breakdown, "humans don't understand the true meaning of time."

Breakdown grunted in agreement as he watched Team Prime slowly disperse to chat with Ratchet, only Jack and Bulkhead staying near Miko. Miko kept glancing between Bulkhead and Breakdown, saying something to quiet for Breakdown to pick up.

Frowning, Breakdown turned away from Bulkhead and Miko, chassis flush with heat at the thought that Miko and Bulkhead were talking about him.  _And for what reason?_

A tap on Breakdown's leg snapped his attention to his pedes, his optic narrowing on Miko as she looked up at him.

"What?" He snapped, servos resting on his hips as he glared down at Miko.

Miko's dark eyes shone with concern and friendliness as she gazed up at him. "Breakdown, I was wondering if we could talk away from the others?"

"Why?" Breakdown growled unhappily.

Miko rolled her eyes and placed both servos on her hips, "Because I asked, Breakdown.  _Politely_."

Breakdown groaned loudly but gave in to Miko's demand with a vent. "Fine."

Miko smiles then and, as Breakdown headed to the furthest corner of the hanger, Miko followed beside him. Breakdown stopped by a raised platform and waited, watching as Miko walked up the stairs to the platform next to him slowly.

She stopped in front of him, leaning halfway over the platform's railing, optics watching Breakdown. Slowly, Miko turned her attention to Team Prime then back to Breakdown with a tired vent.

"After our agency destroyed MECH, I-" Miko's voice choked and she shot her gaze away from Breakdown for a brief moment, "My agency collected every bit of data that MECH had and I read through all of it."

"And?" Breakdown growled, optic narrowing, "Why should I care?"

"Because," Miko breathed, barely loud enough for Breakdown to hear her, "I found the data they collected from you."

Breakdown's servos clenched, chassis shuddering as a brief memory of drills and saws cut through his processor at Miko's words.

Miko did not notice Breakdown's reaction for she continued to forge on. "I never knew the extent of what Silas and MECH did to you, Breakdown. I understand now why you hated Jack, Raf and I so much. We were humans, just like the MECH people who dissected you.

"I even saw files and  _images_ of what they did. They catalogued everything about you and they had some kind of program they tried on Silas after he was crushed by Nemesis Prime. They wanted to meld Silas with a Cybertronian-"

"Enough!" Breakdown snarled, snapping Miko's stunned gaze to his as he backed away from her hurriedly, "Just. Stop. I don't want to know. Don't talk to me about that,  _please_."

Breakdown backed further from Miko, who called his name desperately, but he ignored her and instead hurried over to Wheeljack. Wheeljack and Ratchet, who had been talking with Wheeljack, both looked at Breakdown oddly as he planted himself near Wheeljack, optic whirling about the room.

"Breakdown?" Ratchet quiered, servo reaching for him slowly, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Breakdown lied, jerking away from Ratchet to confused and worried states from Ratchet and Wheeljack.

Ratchet vented then backed off, turning his discussion back to Wheeljack after sending Breakdown another curious glance. Breakdown paid no attention to Ratchet and Wheeljack's conversation, spark calming slowly as he watched the members of Team Prime.

Arcee, Smokescreen and Bulkhead were talking with Jack, all four laughing uproariously at something Smokescreen said. Miko was still standing on the platform, her expression hurt as her helm hung and her pedes scuffed the platform floor.

"Hey, Bumblebee's back!" Smokescreen shouted exclaimed, his shout drawing everyone's attention to the base's doors.

A nanosecond later Bumblebee drove into the base, black and yellow alt drawing to a halt in front of Team Prime. Moments after, Bumblebee's passenger door opened and out stepped a slim man with short cropped brown hair and thin glasses.

"Raf!" Jack cried out, snapping the slim man's gaze up from the ground. His optics widened and, with a cry of joy, leapt into Jack's hug.

"Jack!" Rafael exclaimed, "It is good to see you again!"

"What about me, Raf?" Miko interjected, skidding to a stop beside Jack and Raf as she wrapped both in a tight hug.

"Miko?" Rafael gasped, "Great to see you too!"

"And is, you," Ratchet added, the medic's words drawing a strangled gasp from Rafael.

Rafael looked up at the gathered Cybertronians, joy flickering through his optics. "Ratchet, everyone, I can't believe you all are here!"

Ratchet nodded slowly and, with a pained expression, looked away from Rafael as the human wandered over to Team Prime.

Bumblebee transformed out of his alt, stretched and let out a quiet thrum of his engine. "Guys, since we are all gathered here-"

"Except for Agent Fowler and June," Breakdown realized quietly, his words snapping Bumblebee's words in half.

"That's right," Bumblebee muttered, gaze turning to Jack, "Where are Agent Fowler and your mother, Jack? We would like to bring them along-"

"You can't," Jack said softly, painfully, "Fowler's been dead for years and my mother passed away a few months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Jack," Bumblebee vented, "I would have liked to talked to both of them again."

"Both were happy before their deaths, though booth wished they could have seen Team Prime one last time," Ratchet added, "Fowler especially. He missed  _each_ of you terribly and told me often over the years how he wanted to see the Team one last time."

Bumblebee's chassis sagged, his gaze turning to Team Prime helplessly. Breakdown looked down at Jack, noting how the human's helm hung and his arms were wrapped tightly against his chest.

"Hey," Rafael said, placing a comforting servo on Jack's shoulder, "at least you know they both passed happily. Fowler contacted me a few years ago and we talked for a long time. He sounded so happy, yet sad, at the same time."

"I miss him just as much as I miss my mother," Jack admitted.

"Hey, while we are sorry to hear of Fowler and your mother's fates," Smokescreen said, "all of us are sort of curious what you three have been up to since we left. You guys know what has happened with us, so why don't you share your stories?"

Jack, Miko and Rafael shot each other quick glances before Jack gave Rafael a gentle nudge with his elbow. With a nervous vent, Rafael stepped forward, looking between all of the gathered Cybertronians.

"Only a few years after all of you moved back to Cybertron, my family moved to Massachusetts. I had been accepted into a prestigious college on a full scholarship and that was why my family decided to move. After I graduated college, I joined one of America's foremost scientific government programs and I am still serving with them," Rafael explained as he stared up at Breakdown and the others. A nervous chuckle escaped from the human as he scratched at his helm sheepishly. "Bee already knows this, but I have a family-"

"You had a family? Sweet!" Miko exclaimed, giving Rafael a punch in the back that he recovered from slowly.

"Yes, Miko, I have a family," Rafael laughed, "I met Clarissa at a science expo at my college and, I guess, we sort of hit it off since then. We have three children, a daughter and two sons: Giselle, David and Optimus."

Breakdown stifled the snort that tried to escape from his vents at the name of Rafael's third offspring, though a pointed glare from Arcee only made it harder for Breakdown not to laugh.

"You named one of your kids after Optimus?" Smokescreen asked, "That's pretty cool, Raf."

"Well, yeah, I guess so," Rafael shrugged. "After Ratchet told me what Optimus did I figured, someday I would name a kid of mine after him. Luckily, Clarissa didn't mind nor argue."

"Hey," Miko suddenly interjected, a quizzical look darkening her optics as she looked up at Breakdown and the rest of the Cybertronians. "Do any of you have children?"

"Sparklings," Breakdown clarified, "not children."

"Sparkling, children, same difference," Miko said dismissively, "but my question still stands. We already know that Jack and Raf have families so… What about all of you?"

"No," Arcee said simply, "I don't have time for sparklings."

Smokescreen waved off Miko's curious gaze with a quick laugh. "Not yet. I'm fairly busy with work and, admittedly, I'm pretty young as it is. Maybe someday, though."

Bumblebee's response was a mere shrug, which got a frown from Miko.

Wheeljack leaned towards Miko, a smile quirking over his faceplate as he came to her optic level. "Breakdown and I have  _plenty_ of sparklings-"

"Whoa! Seriously?" Miko gasped, her mouth falling open as she stared up at Wheeljack and then Breakdown.

"No," Breakdown snapped, shooting Wheeljack a furious glare which the Wrecker shrugged off with a cocky smile. "Wheeljack means the students of the Wrecker program we lead. Most of our recruits act like foolish sparklings half the time, even the seasoned Cybertronians."

"Dang, you got me hopeful, Wheeljack," Miko said disappointedly.

"Sorry, Miko," Wheeljack laughed, "But what Breakdown says is true. Our recruits are all the sparklings he and I would ever want to deal with."

Miko scowled disappointedly at Wheeljack and Breakdown then looked over at Bulkhead. "And you, Bulk?"

"Uh, none yet," Bulkhead muttered, "though I really would like to someday. I'm starting to see someone now. Hopefully this time, a certain  _someone_ ," Bulkhead shot Breakdown a glare, "won't kill her."

Breakdown gave Bulkhead a warning snarl, servos tightening at Bulkhead's accusations. "Watch it, Bulkhead."

Bulkhead opened his mouth to retort but a pointed snarl from Wheeljack cut the green Wrecker off. Breakdown let out a snort then turned away from Bulkhead, ignoring the question look Knock Out shot him.

Breakdown tuned out Miko as she began to explain her story, his optic shifting to the open doors of the hanger. Ensuring that none of Team Prime or the humans were watching him, Breakdown walked away from the group, stopping at the hangar doors. His gaze shifted between the humans outside the hangar, most of whom seemed to be training, and Team Prime listening in to Miko and Jack as the two talked about their days working for Unit E.

"Breakdown?"

Bumblebee's voice, soft and questioning, drew Breakdown's attention to his left where the Cybertronian leader was standing.

"Yes, Bumblebee?" Breakdown said cooly, optic narrowing slightly as he stared down at Bumblebee.

Bumblebee shifted beside Breakdown, a vent preceding his words. "I know our last conversation was left off sourly, Breakdown, but I really did mean what I said before. You were a valuable member of our team on Earth. Optimus thought of you as an Autobot, even if you did not."

"I guess," Breakdown muttered.

"Another reason I wanted to talk with you, Breakdown, was to ask you something," Bumblebee explained. "What Cybertron is today was because of you and Dreadwing. I have been in need of a spokesmech for Decepticon affairs on my Cabinet."

"What are you getting at, Bumblebee?" Breakdown asked tiredly, servo brushing against his helm.

"I'm asking if you would join my Cabinet as an advisor. I believe you could provide a lot to me, and Cybertron, in general by joining my Cabinet," Bumblebee said gently, a hopeful light burning in his blue optics as he glanced up at Breakdown.

"But, the Wreckers," Breakdown said hesitantly, "I can't leave again. I promised Wheeljack and Bulkhead that I would stay with the Wreckers. I don't want to disappoint them by leaving to work with you."

"Whoa, wait," Bumblebee said quickly, "don't worry. If you decide to work alongside me in my Cabinet, your job will still mainly be working with the Wreckers. I would never force you to leave the Wreckers."

"Why me though?" Breakdown asked. "You could ask any former Decepticon, Dreadwing, Knock Out, whoever, But you asked me. Why?"

"Because I believe you are right for what I need," Bumblebee explained. "You are not afraid of challenging leaders when you believe they have done something wrong, you aren't blindly loyal to any faction and you are open to seeing anyone - drones, Predacons - as citizens of Cybertron."

"I- I don't know," Breakdown muttered with little confidence. His gaze jerked to where Wheeljack and Bulkhead were, standing around the three humans next to Team Prime, both laughing along to something Jack had said. He looked back at Bumblebee, uncertainty rushing through his spark.

"You don't have to decide now," Bumblebee said, "I just wanted to open the offer to you."

Conflict waged in Breakdown's spark. His optic shifted between the Wreckers and Bumblebee, his uncertainty obvious. "Give me time to decide, Bumblebee. I will talk with Wheeljack and Bulkhead about this after we leave Earth."

"That is understandable Breakdown. I look forward to your decision. Now," Bumblebee laughed, "Why not enjoy the rest of our reunion party?"

Breakdown vented then glanced over at the Wreckers, Team Prime, Ratchet and the humans then gave a small nod. "Oh, why not?"

Bumblebee gave Breakdown a small smile then walked towards the group, Breakdown watching after the former scout for a few more moments. Finally, with a deep exvent, Breakdown headed over to the others.

* * *

Night had fallen and most of the discussions had fallen off to quiet, private conversations between selective few. Breakdown was leaning against the hanger wall, Wheeljack and Bulkhead sitting on the hanger floor near Miko as she listened to Bulkhead detail an incident with a Wrecker recruit. Even hours after Bumblebee had talked with Breakdown, he had still failed to tell Wheeljack and Bulkhead about Bumblebee's offer.

_It's because you're afraid of what they will say_ , a voice chided, the truth of its words stinging.

"Breakdown knows the rest of the story better than I do, so he should finish the story." Bulkhead's words, pointed at Breakdown, snapped him from his thoughts and down to where bulkhead was sitting near Miko. Miko had a curious, begging, look glowing in her optics as she looked up at him.

"Uh, what?" Breakdown asked, "What were you talking about?"

"That time when Blazestream tried to fight Crushfang, Hollyfrost and Darksteel because the three Predacons 'looked at him funny'. Remember?" Bulkhead clarified, a stupefied look darkening his optics as Breakdown shook his helm.

"Not really, sorry," Breakdown admitted distractedly, his words drawing an irred look from Bulkhead. Miko tapped Bulkhead on the servo and gave him a quick, dismissive wave of her servo.

"It's okay. I need to grab some food anyways. When I get back you finish the story, Bulk. Okay?"

"Sure," Bulkhead said slowly, optics shifting to Breakdown once more as Miko hurried away from the three Wreckers. "Breakdown, what's going on?"

Breakdown rubbed at the back of his helm self-consciously, a nervous chuckle escaping from his vents as he glanced away from Bulkhead and Wheeljack. "Bumblebee wants me to join his cabinet as some kind of advisor, I don't really know why, and I've been thinking and I don't want to."

"Why not?" Bulkhead asked, "If Bumblebee is offering you the chance, you should take it. He obviously has a reason for wanting you on his Cabinet."

"Yeah," Wheeljack interrupted coldly, "but if Breakdown does, will that mean he is leaving us,  _again_?"

"No!" Breakdown exclaimed, "Bumblebee said that I would still be a Wrecker. But I already told you guys, I'm not going to. I  _want_ to stay with the Wreckers, with my  _friends_."

Wheeljack and Bulkhead shot each other a quick look that Breakdown could not decipher then, slowly, Wheeljack looked at Breakdown.

"That's the first time you have called us your friends, Breakdown," Wheeljack realized slowly, "do you really mean it?"

"Uh," Breakdown stared between Bulkhead and Wheeljack then, with a shuddering vent, nodded. "Yes. I see both of you as my friends."

Breakdown shifted his gaze away from Wheeljack and Bulkhead, left servo tightening around his right arm self consciously. He had always disliked admitting his feelings to others and he was already starting to feel a rush of nerves choke into his spark.

Before he could think any longer, Bulkhead pulled Breakdown into a tight hug as Wheeljack gave him an unreadable look. Bulkhead let go of Breakdown suddenly then backed away from him and Wheeljack, quickly walking off to where Arcee and Smokescreen were chatting with Rafael. Breakdown watched after Bulkhead then looked down at Wheeljack, noting how the white Wrecker had his arms crossed over his chest plate.

"Wheeljack, I don't want to leave the Wreckers," Breakdown tried to explain, hoping that Wheeljack would believe him. "I could not leave. I'm happy with the Wreckers, with you and Bulkhead-"

A laugh from Wheeljack stopped Breakdown mid explanation, the Wrecker's chassis shaking. "It's okay, Breakdown, I get it. And I really am glad to know you see Bulk and I as friends  _and_ that you want to stay with the Wreckers. But, maybe you should think about what Bumblebee offered. You and Dreadwing pioneered the change in Cybertron's government and you have been one of the most adamant supporters of Vehicon rights. There is a reason Bumblebee wants you and, I think you could serve Cybertron well as both a Wrecker  _and_ an advisor."

Breakdown vented then glanced away from Wheeljack, "I don't know, Wheeljack. Politics just isn't my thing-"

"Breakdown," Wheeljack snapped, "stop trying to convince yourself that you don't want to work with Bumblebee. I can tell you really do."

"No, I don't!" Breakdown exclaimed, but even he knew he was lying. He had been intrigued by Bumblebee's offer and  _was_ curious about the idea, but Wheeljack stating it only made Breakdown realize that.

Wheeljack observed Breakdown slowly then placed a servo on his shoulder plate. "Bulkhead and I understand if you want to work with Bumblebee. Everyone should have the chance to do what they want, even you Breakdown."

Breakdown looked away from Wheeljack, pedes scuffing against the ground, "I'll have to think about it, but I hope you know that I will will choose the Wreckers over all."

"I know," Wheeljack said gently then, with a brief smile towards Breakdown, walked away from Breakdown.

Breakdown shook his helm as Wheeljack walked away, disappointment towards himself biting into his spark.  _I'm happy with the Wreckers, but could I be happier if I did more for Cybertron, and myself?_

"Breakdown." The sound of pedes stopping beside Breakdown and the quiet voice of Ratchet drew Breakdown's attention to his left.

"Ratchet?"

"I could not help but overhear what you and Bumblebee has to say, just as I heard what you and Wheeljack talked about," Ratchet said slowly, optics shifting to Breakdown. "Bumblebee himself told me that he asked you to join his Cabinet. He told me that he respects you, and that is one reason he wants you to work with him.

"Bumblebee admits that he is biased in occasions and he thinks you - the one mech to face down Optimus and give him a piece of their mind - would be well suited to challenge his decisions."

Breakdown opened his mouth to retort but Ratchet silenced him with a short wave of his servo. "You know Bumblebee and I speak the truth, you just have to accept the fact yourself."

With a nod to Breakdown, Ratchet walked away, leaving Breakdown to watch after him and think.

* * *

"We have to be heading back to Cybertron soon," Bumblebee said, his gaze locked on Ratchet, Miko, Rafael and Jack. "Ratchet can Ground Bridge each of you home after our goodbyes and then we must leave."

"Why so soon?" Miko asked softly, pain clawing at her words.

"Cybertron is a busy place, Miko, and all of us have jobs we must return to," Arcee explained. "We could only be here for a short time and I am sorry about that."

"But, I thought you would stay longer," Miko said softly, "I  _want_ you to stay longer."

"Miko," Breakdown said gently, "any of us can come back now. All Space Bridges have been freed for travel and that means we can come back to Earth again."

Miko vented and then lowered her gaze away from Breakdown and the others. Rafael stepped forward, digits pushing at his glasses as he looked up at Bumblebee and the the others.

"It was nice to see all of you again. I wish I to could stay longer but I need to be heading home to my family. Maybe I will see all of you again?" Rafael said formally, helm bowing respectfully as he backed away from the group.

Jack stepped forward lastly, a smile wide on his face. "I am always here, and if anyone ever wants to visits just come over. I know Ratchet and I will be happy to have any of you over."

"And me," Miko suddenly said, her optics intense, "I have no loyalties to my 'home' in Japan. I am not happy there. I want to come back and live here in Jasper. It's the closest I will ever get to being near to any of you."

"But Miko," Bulkhead began, "What about your parents?"

"They know I'm not happy. I made it clear ever since I moved back to Japan," Miko snapped, "I  _want_ to live here."

Ratchet rolled his optics but Breakdown did not miss the smile that Ratchet shot Miko. "Whatever you say, Miko. You're an adult, you make your own decisions."

"Say your goodbyes everyone," Bumblebee said to Breakdown and the others, "I will contact Ultra Magnus to open a Space Bridge for us here."

Bumblebee walked off, leaving Breakdown and the others to their goodbyes. Breakdown approached Ratchet, the medic looking towards him curiously.

"I was glad to see you again Ratchet," Breakdown informed, "maybe we will get to meet more often now."

"I would like that. It was relieving to talk with my old friends again after so many years." Ratchet gave Breakdown a small smile then turned to say goodbye to Arcee, Knock Out and Smokescreen.

Breakdown moved away from them, stopping by Miko when she called his name. Twisting his helm toward the older human, Breakdown bent down to look Miko in the optic.

"Yes, Miko?"

"I wanted to say thank you for bringing me back here and for all that you did for Team Prime before. Also," Miko smiled, "this." Without waiting a second, Miko leapt up onto Breakdown's chest plate and, with a choking cry, buried her face against Breakdown's faceplate.

"I don't want you to leave, none of you," Miko cried, her small frame shaking, "I'm lonely without you, Bulkhead and Wheeljack. After I lost my leg I could not fathom living. It was the thought of seeing any of you again that helped me push through. I don't want you to not return, please, do come back someday."

Breakdown's optic turned, watching Miko as she contained to press her frame against the metal of his faceplate, her face buried against his.

"Miko," he said gently, his voice low and soft, "we will come back again.  _I_ will come back someday, I promise."

Miko looked up at Breakdown slowly, tears streaming down her face which she wiped away furiously. "How do I know you aren't just saying that to shut up the 'annoying human'?"

"Because, Miko, I keep my promises. Anyways," Breakdown paused, a huff of his vents concealing the nerves in his voice, "I did grow to care about you Miko. I sort of missed your temper."

Miko looked up at Breakdown silently and, before he realized what he was doing, Breakdown presses his right servo against Miko gently. Miko stayed silent for a few more klicks then, gently, Breakdown picked her up and placed her back on the hanger floor when he heard the snap of a Space Bridge opening behind him.

"Goodbye Miko. See you again, eventually."

"Goodbye, Breakdown," Miko breathed. "Thank you for coming back."

Breakdown nodded then turned towards the Space Bridge. He walked to the edge as Bumblebee began urging everyone through, stopping at the entrance to look back at Ratchet and Miko.

Ratchet nodded to Breakdown, servo pressing against his chest plate - a farewell and yet, a sign of respect. Miko gave Breakdown a slight wave and then, with one last nod to both, Breakdown walked through the Space Bridge.


	32. Epilogue (Final)

_240 Years ACR…_

Suffocating darkness. Blistering pain and crushing immobility.

He could not move. He was trapped. But he had to protect  _him_.

He only hoped someone would find him and the one he was protecting before he could feel no more.

Until then… he would stay online. He had to.

* * *

His chassis ached. Dull pain shot up his leg as his pede drug against the ground in a notable limp. His gaze shifted to the door of his quarters and, with a slow push of his servo, opened the door to his room. He shifted over to his berth and, slowly, achingly, lowered himself to his berth.

Slowly he reached out to the nightstand beside his berth with one servo and picked up a small datapad that was resting on the metal nightstand. With a flick of digits, he turned on the datapad, gaze narrowing at the first headline that appeared.

_Bombing of Iacon Senate Takes Lives of Many, Injures Hundreds; Suspect Unknown_

_Reported by Dragonsong_

_What was a peaceful afternoon in Iacon was quickly shattered by an explosion of immense magnitude. This explosion was centered in the Cybertronian Senate building of Iacon, and was timed to explode during a vital meeting that saw every member of Leader Bumblebee's Cabinet and the Senate of Cybertron inside the building. The origin of the explosion was found by expert scientist in the basement of the Senate building._

_Moments after the explosion happened, Cybertronians were seen fleeing from the burning, destroyed building. Units of response teams, including the Iacon Search and Rescue, the Wreckers Emergency Response Team and Iacon's Fire and Enforcement Unit, responded as quickly as possible to the scene. Units from teams began administering medical attention to the wounded that escaped the explosion and the Wreckers ERT rushed into the weakened structure to pull out the Cybertronians that could not leave on their own._

_Horrifyingly enough, only_ klicks  _after the first explosion_ another  _followed, the second going off while response teams were inside the building. Those of the response teams that had not been caught in the explosion rushed to help all of the ones caught in the second explosion._

_As of this writing, there are thirty six known dead (from visitors, Senate members, responses teams and more) and around two hundred wounded. Only five of the thirty six that lost their lives due to this attack have been identified. Officials fear that there are more injured and dead within the rubble that has not be cleared. Response teams are still working to safely clear the destroyed area and, until their work is complete, a full figure will not be known._

_The five identified that perished in this unspeakable act are:_

_Airshift: A former Autobot who-_

Exhaustion, pain, agony - of a spark tearing kind he'd only felt one other time - swapped his processor and, before he could finish reading the article, recharge was upon him.

* * *

Wheeljack was hollow, without feeling but for numbness that edged at his every step and his every thought. Metal dust coated from his frame, flowing off him as he walked towards Team Prime's headquarters. The white Wrecker had only just finished up his duty as clean up crew for the bombing that had torn asunder Cybertron's peace.

He was to exhausted - he could barely even stay awake - to go the hour drive to the Wreckers headquarters. Primus, he was even nearly to tired to travel the short distance to Team Prime's headquarters. But he also couldn't back  _there_. Not now, not after what had happened that afternoon.

Finally, Wheeljack stopped in front of the Team Prime headquarters, helm titling to scan the steps up to the headquarter entrance. Staggering, slowly, Wheeljack climbed the steps, stumbling slightly when he failed to lift his pedes completely up each step. His optics were half shuttered as he reached the headquarters door, servo raising to knock but before he could, his frame collapsed from complete exhaustion.

A vent wheezed from Wheeljack's intakes, his optics and processor powering down.  _Recharge will be nice-_

"Wheeljack!" Servos latched onto his arms, lifting him from the ground. Slowly Wheeljack looked up, a jagged, joyless cracking over his faceplate at the sight of Smokescreen and his conjux, a former Decepticon flyer named Breezedrift.

"Here, I've got you," Breezedrift said softly as she helped Wheeljack back to his pedes. Smokescreen shifted beside Wheeljack to give the exhausted Wrecker further support.

"Let's get you to a room. You need rest, Wheeljack." Smokescreen's voice was distant, muffled by the fog in Wheeljack's processor.

As Smokescreen and Breezedrift carries Wheeljack into Team Prime's headquarters, Wheeljack's optics shuttered and he fell into a deep recharge.

* * *

Wheeljack woke with a shuddering yawn, optics adjusting slowly to the brightness of his - no not  _his_ \- room. As he shifted off of the berth, pedes hesitantly holding his weight, he glanced around the room. There was little in terms of decorations or personality, and only the berth he had slept on occupied any space in the room.

The door to his room creaked open and, with it, the white helm of Breezedrift's appeared through the open door.

"Good morning, Wheeljack," she greeted cheerily as she walked into the room with Wheeljack. Cradled against her chest plate was a small, blue, white and pastel purple sparkling, swaddled tight to Breezedrift.

"Good morning," Wheeljack said slowly, helm tilting slightly towards the window where the light was streaming through. "How long have I been in recharge?"

"Two days," Breezedrift admitted. "Smoke and the others grew worried but Ratchet told us to leave you be."

"Ratchet?" Wheeljack gasped, "What?"

"His medical expertise was needed after the explosion. Ultra Magnus summoned him and he helped to the best of his ability. He's still here."

"The explosion," Wheeljack remembered, fear choking at his spark. "Have you received word from Bulkhead, or any of the recruits? What's the news from the explosion?"

"Not good," Breezedrift vented. "Many more dead were found than originally counted. Senate members, civilians, even response team members were killed in the blast."

"Bulkhead?"

"He's fine," Breezedrift said with a shake of her helm. "He happens to be here now. Why don't you come down and get breakfast? You need it."

Wheeljack wanted to protest but, with a defeated vent, he gave Breezedrift a short nod. Breezedrift looked at him for a moment then propped the door to the room open, signaling him to walk through. As he passed through the open door, Breezedrift followed close behind him, quickly catching up to walk next to him.

"What's your sparklings name?" Wheeljack asked in an attempt to lighten the stifling tension that thickened the air.

Breezedrift turned to him, her currant optics lightening ever so slightly. Gently she brushed her servo against the puny helm of her sparkling, who let out a small squeak and shifted itself deeper into the folds of mesh wrapped around it.

"This is Windriver," Breezedrift said happily, "she was born only a few days before the bombing at the Senate building. Smokescreen wanted to respond to the incident but his supervisor told him to stay because of Windriver."

Wheeljack looked away from Breezedrift as the pair continued to walk down the hallway, finally entering into a large room where Bulkhead and Team Prime - minus Ultra Magnus, Knock Out and Bumblebee - were sitting at a large table. Arcee and Bulkhead both looked exhausted, and Smokescreen had his helm buried in a datapad.

None of the three looked up when Wheeljack and Breezedrift entered the dining hall; Bulkhead barely acknowledging Wheeljack as he sat next to his friend.

As Wheeljack picked up a cup of energon to drink, he shifted his attention to Arcee. "Where are Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus? Are they… offlined?"

"No," Arcee said, "Bee was hurt in the Senate building explosion. Magnus is substituting as Cybertron's leader until Bumblebee recovers."

"And will he? Recover, that is."

"Yes. Ratchet and Knock Out both have informed us many times that Bumblebee will recover," Arcee assured quickly.

"I'll show you him," Bulkhead growled beside Wheeljack. "Come with me."

Wheeljack pauses mid-drink, optics snapping towards Bulkhead as the green Wrecker stood up beside him. "Bulk?"

Bulkhead ignored Wheeljack's incredulous question, turning away from him with an snort of vents. Wheeljack stared at Bulkhead's back then quickly got to his pedes, moving up beside Bulkhead.

Wheeljack tilted his helm curiously as Bulkhead walked out of the dining hall.

"You should go with him," Smokescreen advised from behind Wheeljack. Wheeljack shifted his gaze to the blue Autobot then followed after Bulkhead.

Bulkhead stomped down the hallway without saying a single thing to Wheeljack, the green Wrecker finally slowing as he turned down another hallway. Wheeljack leapt in front of Bulkhead, stopping his friend with a pointed snarl from his engine.

"Bulk, talk to me!"

Bulkhead looked down at Wheeljack, an unusual intensity burning in his optics as he jerked his helm down the hallway they were standing in. "Follow me, and you will see."

"What? Bulkhead could you be any clearer?" Wheeljack scoffed as Bulkhead walked past him, stopping in front of a door with a pointed look towards Wheeljack.

Slowly, Wheeljack walked over to Bulkhead, gaze turning to the door. The door was less a door than an extremely sturdy window, most of the door's frame made up of clear glass instead of thick steel. And through the glass, Wheeljack could see Bumblebee.

The black and yellow mech was laid out on a berth with numerous tubes strained to his chest. Though his arms had mild dents and his legs were scuffed and chassis scarred, Bumblebee looked well.

Wheeljack twisted a confused look towards Bulkhead."How is he injured so mildly? The way Arcee told it sounded like Bumblebee was hurt really badly. This doesn't make sense to me."

Bulkhead, frustratingly so, said nothing in response and instead moved further down the hall, slowing and stopping in front of another door. His gaze turned to Wheeljack and, for the first time, Wheeljack saw the fathomless pain dulling his friend's optics.

"Bulk?" Wheeljack ventured, afraid of what Bulkhead would say as the green Wrecker twisted his servo to the door.

"This is why Bumblebee is going to live." As Wheeljack walked up to Bulkhead's position, Bulkhead pointed his servo towards the glass door. Wheeljack turned his gaze to the room and froze.

"No," he breathed, servos plastering against the door as he stared into the room.

On a medical berth lay Breakdown, his blue chassis crushed and broken, leaving his frame to be nearly unrecognizable. Ratchet was bent beside Breakdown, his optics shifting upwards to catch Bulkhead and Wheeljack watching him. The old medic made no notion of his feeling as he looked down and continued to work on Breakdown.

"What happened to him?" Wheeljack breathed, horror settling into his spark at the sight of his friend's mangled chassis.

"He was in the Senate building for a meeting when the bomb went off. No one knows what after that but, yesterday, a response Team found him and Bumblebee amongst the rubble. Breakdown had sheltered Bumblebee from, at least what the inspectors believe, the second blast. Ratchet was called here to help Breakdown since every other medic is busy with the injured."

"But- How- Did-" Wheeljack was lost for words as he looked up at Bulkhead then back to the sight of his injured friend.

"Ratchet hasn't left that room since he got here. He hasn't talked to any of us either. So, no, I have no idea of Breakdown's true condition," Bulkhead grumbled, helm turning away from Wheeljack.

Wheeljack looked down, optics shuttering closed miserably.

"Are you two going to stand outside and stare in here the whole day? I can't help Breakdown with you two gawking at me as I work." Ratchet's voice, barking and stern, snapped Wheeljack's gaze to the aged medic. Ratchet was glowering at both Wheeljack and Bulkhead, servos clenched tight.

"No, sorry, Ratchet," Bulkhead apologized, "we'll be going."

"Good," Ratchet snapped and, with a final glare in Wheeljack and Bulkhead's direction, Ratchet slammed the door with a loud  _thud_.

Bulkhead vented and walked away, but Wheeljack stayed stock still, unable to look away from his injured friend. He could barely recognize what Breakdown was now and it scared him.

Ratchet suddenly looked up at Wheeljack, optics softening slightly as the medic stared at him. With a shake of his helm, Ratchet stood up and walked to the door, cracking it open to stare at Wheeljack.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to know," Wheeljack looked towards Breakdown as he spoke, "is he-"

Ratchet silenced Wheeljack with a glare. "I don't know Wheeljack," Ratchet snarled, "I have got  _nothing_! Almost every part of Breakdown is nearly beyond all repair! I don't know if I can save him."

Wheeljack flinched at Ratchet's admission, optics turning once more to Breakdown, laying on the medical berth, nearly beyond recognition.

"Please tell me if he wakes up," Wheeljack whispered then, without a second glance, fled from Ratchet.

* * *

Ultra Magnus walked through the hallways of Team Prime's headquarters with utter silence. It was late at night and Ultra Magnus has only just found time to leave work and return to the headquarters for recharge. But he was not stopping at his berth first.

As he reached his destination, Ultra Magnus gave a sharp rap of his servos against the door frame. A few seconds later, Ratchet opened the door and shot him a scrutinizing look.

"Yes, Magnus? I'm busy," Ratchet said bitingly, servo jerking behind him to the medical room. "I have a patient, and no patience for interruptions."

"I understand that Doctor," Ultra Magnus said, placing his good servo on Ratchet's shoulder plate, "but you need your rest. You have not allowed yourself to rest since you came here. Please, for your and Breakdown's sake, rest. I will bring in another medic to care for him while you recover."

"I can't do that, Magnus," Ratchet snapped, "Breakdown needs me if he is to survive. I can't trust his life with just any medic."

"Ratchet."

Ratchet let out a defeated vent at the quiet command from Ultra Magnus, then gave a small shake of his helm. "As you wish, Magnus. Just allow me a moment to check on Breakdown before I leave."

"Of course," Ultra Magnus said, "I will contact the medic while you deal with what you need."

Half a  _groon_ later, Ratchet emerged from the medical room once more, helm tilting towards Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus dipped his helm towards the medic respectfully, watching as Ratchet headed towards his quarters.

Once Ratchet had closed the door to his room, Ultra Magnus pulled out a datapad from his storage space. He activated the device and resumed reading over the reports from the bombing.

_Forty nine known dead…_

_Bodies are still being recovered from the rubble…_

_Leader Bumblebee was found at 1900 hours, nearly a day and a half since the explosion…_

_Civilian response massive…_

_Dreadwing (of former Decepticon and the Radiance Trial fame) led many of the responding civilians in relief aid…_

_The bodies of fifteen of our Senate have been discovered amongst the destruction…_

_Ultra Magnus, we still have no clues as to_ who  _did this. There is nothing evidence wise and the explosives used in the bombing were of a generic brand-_

"Ultra Magnus, sir?" A smooth voice, from Ultra Magnus's left drew the tall mech's gaze from his datapad and to the scarlet and chiffon colored mech standing near him. The mech was of medium stature and had an extremely sleek design - all the young mechs seemed to be designed in that same vein nowadays. Distinct red lettering that ran down the mech's right arm spelled out his role as a doctor and, in the mech's servo, was a large kit marked with the Cybertronian medical symbol.

"Suture," Ultra Magnus greeted. He shifted his gaze to the room behind him then back to the medic. "Your patient is in here. Please do all you can for him."

"Of course, sir," Suture replied, helm dipping in respect before the medic walked into the medical room with Breakdown.

Ultra Magnus glanced once more into the room after Suture then, with his gaze turning back to his datapad, walked towards his room.

He could not get his thoughts away from the last report he had been reading.

_No clues towards the suspect-_

A deep snarl escaped Ultra Magnus's engine and his grip tightened around the sturdy datapad.

_We_ must  _find who did this. Who shattered the peace on Cybertron and who shattered the lives of so many Cybertronians. I will_ not  _rest until I find who did this._

_They will regret their transgressions against Cybertron._

* * *

Ratchet woke from recharge with a gasp. His optics shuttered closed for a few seconds, processor chasing away the haunting visions of death - failure - that plagued his every night.

His thoughts circled to Earth. The planet was vastly different from when he and the rest of Team Prime had lived there. The military Ratchet had worked with had, nearly sixty years ago, been dissolved and since then Ratchet had been in hiding on Earth. Having no means to a Space Bridge forced the old medic to stay on the planet and he lacked communications to Cybertron.

Until Ultra Magnus had, quite literally, walked on top of him in the middle of a scrapyard in Montana. Ultra Magnus had explained the situation on Cybertron to Ratchet, who had been horrified when he heard what had happened to his home planet.

But when Ultra Magnus had told him that the response teams had found Bumblebee and Breakdown crushed under the rubble and that the planet was low on medics, Ratchet immediately volunteered his services. Ratchet was glad to be back on Cybertron and, already, he had decided he was going to stay on Cybertron.

_No time to dwell or linger_ , Ratchet thought to himself snappishly.  _Breakdown needs me._

Without waiting any longer, Ratchet hurried out of his quarters, stopping at the door to Breakdown's medical room. His optics narrowed on the medic scanning over Breakdown's vital monitors, servos crossed over his chest plate.

Ratchet pushed open the door to the medical room, his entrance drawing the attention of the other medic.

"Ratchet," the medic greeted. "I am Suture."

Ratchet grunted in greeting to Suture as he walked up to where Breakdown lay, broken chassis shuddering with each wheezing breath the blue mech made.

"There has been no improvement in his condition, Doctor. I was able to repair some of his worst injuries-"

"You trained under him, didn't you?" Ratchet asked rhetorically, optics narrowing on the young - born after Cybertron's revival - medic.

Suture startled back at Ratchet's words, sleek helm falling as he shifted his indigo colored optics back towards the injured Breakdown. "From when I was created I felt like I had a calling for medical services. I read every bit of information and watched older medics work for years. I happened to get into the Wrecker's recruit program and, when Breakdown realized how much I wanted to help others as a medic, he started to give me special lessons. I owe it to him to try and save him."

"Breakdown told me about you the few times he visited my base on Earth," Ratchet offered as explanation as he ran his scanner over Breakdown's chassis, wincing at each of the  _beeps_ the scanner made whenever it passed over Breakdown's chassis.

Ratchet deactivated his scanner and began his work attempting to repair and stabilize Breakdown. He barely even acknowledged Suture as the young medic moved alongside him and began the process of assisting Ratchet during the procedure.

"Uh, Ratchet? Sir?" Suture interrupted the silence, snapping Ratchet's gaze to the young mech.

"Yes?" He growled, optics shifting between Breakdown's vital monitor and Suture.

"When Breakdown talked about me, what did he say?"

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at Suture's question, vents huffing derisively. "Is this  _really_ the time for this? I'm trying to help Breakdown and I need  _quiet_ to do that!"

"Oh, sorry," Suture muttered, shame darkening his optics as the young mech resumed working on Breakdown's mangled right shoulder plate. "I was just curious."

"Why so curious?" Ratchet asked loudly over the sound of his welder, peering up briefly at the young mech.

Suture dicked his helm, a shy smile appearing on his faceplate. "Breakdown's never really said anything in terms of positivity to me, but I always believed he liked me. I guess I was just hoping that I don't just imagine that Breakdown likes me."

Ratchet let out a snort, optics rolling slightly. "He likes you plenty well. Breakdown's just never been the best at explaining his feelings to others. He really only ever talks with those few he trusts. I happen to be one of them."

"Oh," Suture muttered, trace hints of happiness infecting his voice as he looked down at Breakdown's stasis body. "I hope he will recover."

"So do I," Ratchet admitted softly, optics shifting to the shattered form of Breakdown - of his friend.

* * *

"Wheeljack, Bulkhead. Ratchet's asked me to get both of you down to the medical wing," Breezedrift explained as she approached the spot where Wheeljack and Bulkhead were standing around.

Wheeljack snapped his gaze to the flyer, Bulkhead scrambling to his pedes beside Wheeljack with a worried vent.

"Why does Ratchet want us?" Wheeljack asked slowly, fearing what Breezedrift would say and, judging by her expression, whatever it was was not good.

"Breakdown has awoken. It's not good, though," Breezedrift said solemnly, turning away from Wheeljack and Bulkhead to hurry away down the hallway.

Bulkhead shot Wheeljack a nervous glance and then thundered down the hallway in the opposite direction from Breezedrift. Wheeljack raced after his friend, skidding into a sidewall when he took a turn too fast into the medical wing. Together, Wheeljack and Bulkhead stopped in front of Breakdown's room.

Ratchet looked up at Wheeljack and Bulkhead as the two looked through the glass door. With a jerk of his helm, Ratchet signaled for both to step into the room. Slowly, Wheeljack pushed open the door, Bulkhead peering over his shoulder plate as Wheeljack walked into the room.

His optics immediately shifted to Breakdown, scanning the repaired limbs and buffed chassis of his friend. But something seemed off about Breakdown. Short, wheezing gasps hissed from Breakdown's vents and his sole optic fizzed and sparkled.

"Breakdown…" Wheeljack breathed as he stopped next to Breakdown's side.

"Hello… Wheeljack," Breakdown wheezed, a jagged, pained smile arching across his faceplate.

Bulkhead shifted next to Wheeljack, giving Breakdown a short, worried wave of one servo. "Hey, Breakdown."

Breakdown shifted, attempted to pull himself to his pedes, but Ratchet stopped Breakdown with a sharp, "No."

Breakdown vented - a harsh, grating vent - and stopped attempting to move, optic shifting to Wheeljack and Bulkhead slowly. His optic was a dull yellow, almost white color, and with every rattling breath Breakdown took, the optic only seemed to grow duller.

Wheeljack looked towards Ratchet, pleading silently with the medic only for Ratchet to give him a short shake of his helm.

"I'm not… going to… make it," Breakdown coughed, a slight wince coursing through his chassis as Breakdown spoke.

"No," Wheeljack breathed, pain gripping his spark as he realized his fears were right. "You can't leave us Breakdown, we need you."

Breakdown's optic turned to Wheeljack slowly and with it, Wheeljack saw a chasm of pain and sadness in Breakdown's fading optic. "I'm sorry, Wheeljack, Bulkhead. I… I will miss... both of you."

Bulkhead suddenly let out a snarl and wheeled on Ratchet, who startled slightly from Bulkhead's sudden movement. "Can't you do more to help him, Ratchet?!"

"Bulkhead," Breakdown hissed, both in anger and pain, "do not snap at Ratchet. He did all he could to help me."

"But-"

"No, Bulkhead," Breakdown growled. Wheeljack could hear the strain in Breakdown's words, his vents hissing with each perfectly punctuated word. "I was not able to be saved from the beginning. The second explosion tore into my spark chamber and my spark has been fading since. It was inevitable."

Bulkhead hung his helm in defeat then, suddenly, without saying anything to Wheeljack, Ratchet or Breakdown, the green Wrecker fled from the medical room.

Breakdown let out a hollow vent then shifted his gaze to Wheeljack. "I did… enjoy being a Wrecker with you and Bulkhead again."

"I did too," Wheeljack admitted, helm turning away from the sight of his ravaged friend.

"Wheeljack." Breakdown's voice drew Wheeljack's gaze back to the blue Wrecker once more. His yellow optic sparked and a small, nearly imperceptible smile cracked over Breakdown's faceplate.

"Yes, Break-"

Before Wheeljack could finish his sentence, Breakdown pulled him down and, with a grunt of pain, wrapped his arms around Wheeljack's chassis in a hug. Wheeljack stiffened in surprise, then pressed his helm into Breakdown's scared chest plate.

"Goodbye… Jackie…" Breakdown's grip loosened around Wheeljack's back and, with a final, rattling wheeze from his vents, Breakdown's arms fell to his side and his optic faded to nothingness.

Wheeljack stepped away from Breakdown, averting his gaze from his friend's lifeless body. Without thinking, Wheeljack whipped around and hurried past Ratchet, leaving the room without looking back.

* * *

_Two Weeks Later…_

Ultra Magnus was frustrated. In the two weeks since the Senate building had been destroyed no one had been able to find the mech who had committed the act.

_We have investigators working around the clock and_ nothing _? How can we fail at something so important?_

With a furious snarl, Ultra Magnus smashed his servo into his desk, denta grinding together as his gaze shifted to a small datapad lying near his left servo. Though anger and frustration still burned through his spark, Ultra Magnus picked up the datapad and scoured through the channels of information.

The one that caught his optic - and infuriated him further - was the finalized report on the victims of the bombing.

_The Bombing of the Iacon Senate Building._

_Date: 240 Years After Cybertron's Revival._

_Suspect: Unknown_

_Victims (56 in total):_

_Building Workers (Eight in Total): Crossflare, Dagger, Flashdash, Grinddrift, Joltsiren, Roadfist, Slipraker, Whistlewind._

_Bumblebee's Cabinet (Nine in Total): Cloudsmoke, Dragmark, Eclispeturn, Heatslash, Rivenbeak, Shredmetal, Shockjaw, Silversong, Stormblade._

_Civilians (Nine in Total): Armorgrind, Augment, Chromecircuit, Freeglide, Havocwrath, Groundpounder, Switch, Voltage, Yellownight._

_Cybertron Enforcement Agency (Four in Total): Chargeblade, Metalhowl, Trigger, Wildbreak._

_Iacon Response Team (Three in Total): Direwing, Quickswipe, Skyblast._

_Predacon (One in Total): Crushfang._

_Senate Members (Fifteen in Total): Airstrike, Copperfire, Crankshaft, Jaggedfang, Moonchaser, Quakeshift, Redswoop, Scrapdrive, Softshadow, Threadsteel, Viperstrike._

_Vehicon Volunteer Unit (Five in Total): Condor, Mortar, Scratch, Spear, Wheel._

_Wreckers (Five in total): Breakdown, Bombrun, Cryo, Strikeback, Tempest._

_And a total of three hundred and thirty three (333) injured._

Ultra Magnus shut off his datapad with a shake of his helm, irritation clawing at his chassis. He had known many of the victims and, for every day that passed without finding the mech responsible for the bombing, Ultra Magnus only felt that his investigators would never find the culprit.

_That will not stand_ , Ultra Magnus berated,  _but what more can we do? Every available unit is trying to find anything close to a clue-_

" _Ultra Magnus, sir!"_ The voice, inflected by static from the commpad on Ultra Magnus's desk.

"Yes, Bluestreak? What do you have to report?"

" _Not to sure, sir. Just a bit ago we got a message from someone saying that they found the Senate Bomber,"_ Bluestreak replied hesitantly over the commpad. " _I couldn't tell who it was, so I'm not sure if it is another prank call or real this time."_

"I will personally check it out," Ultra Magnus growled. "Did this informant say where they would meet?"

" _Yes,"_ Bluestreak snorted, " _the front of the building."_

"Got it. I will rendezvous with the informant and scope out the details." Ultra Magnus shut off the commpad and rose from his seat, servos tightening slightly as he walked out of his office.

Ultra Magnus strips with purpose down the hallways, passing Cybertronians without a single note of acknowledgement to any of those he passed.

_Please let this one be real_ , Ultra Magnus pleaded silentl as he pushed the front doors of Cybertron's foremost investigation agency open.

As his optics adjusted to the bright sunlight outside the building, a loud crash snapped his attention to the steps before him. Laid out on the steps was a jet black Cybertronian, her right shoulder plate scorched with burn marks. The Cybertronian glared up at Ultra Magnus and, almost immediately, he recognized her.

_Iceblaze_.

At the same moment as Ultra Magnus recognized Iceblaze, a large, blue and yellow Seeker landed on top of her back strut, red optics fueled with fire.

"I found your bomber," Dreadwing snarled as he straightened and looked over to Ultra Magnus.

* * *

Ultra Magnus stared at him in surprise, optics wide as the former Autobot's gaze shifted between Dreadwing and Iceblaze. Dreadwing released Iceblaze's helm from his grip, chassis straightening as he looked Ultra Magnus directly in the optics.

Ultra Magnus looked away from Dreadwing, optics narrowing as he glared down at Iceblaze. "Is what true, what Dreadwing says? Are you, Iceblaze, the one who bombed the Senate building?"

"Yes," Iceblaze snarled, "I am."

Ultra Magnus started slightly and, at least to Dreadwing's observation, Ultra Magnus seemed stunned at Iceblaze's quick admission. Quickly, Ultra Magnus shot Dreadwing a questioning look. Dreadwing gave a short nod as confirmation then watched as Ultra Magnus stared down Iceblaze.

"Iceblaze, under your own accord you have admitted to being the mech behind the bombing of the Senate building. You do understand what this means, do you not?" Ultra Magnus rumbled.

"Of course I do," Iceblaze hissed. "You are going to arrest me and force me to undergo a trial."

Ultra Magnus let out a snort from his vents and then bent level with Iceblaze. "I'm glad you know."

Knowing what was coming, Dreadwing stepped off of Iceblaze, just in time to avoid getting knocked to his pedes when Ultra Magnus yanked Iceblaze to her pedes.

"You are under arrest, Iceblaze," Ultra Magnus ordered, helm jerking towards two Cybertronians with the Enforcement Agency insignia emblazoned on their chest plates. The two officers walked up to Iceblaze, placed energy cuffs on her wrists, and took her into the building.

Dreadwing did not move from his spot, optics narrowing as Ultra Magnus turned on him.

"Dreadwing, I am going to need you to come in for questioning," Ultra Magnus stated, earning only a nod of understanding from Dreadwing.

"Of course," Dreadwing replied as Ultra Magnus turned and signaled for Dreadwing to follow him. Dreadwing did as such and, together, he and Ultra Magnus walked into the building.

* * *

_His audials rang with a high pitched whine, muffling all noise but for the whine. Smoke, dust and ash clouded his vision as he scrambled over twisted metal. He had no idea what had happened, and only remembered waking up - hadn't he been in a meeting? - to the high pitched whine in his audials._

_He had been wandering around amongst darkness, confusion and smoke, hoping to find something or someone-_

_Servos suddenly yanked him backwards, his pedes skidding and tripping over parts of twisted metal - was that a_ body _?! - and nearly falling to the ground. Before he could though he was lifted back up and turned around so he was looking into the one-opticed gaze of Breakdown._

_Sopot and ash covered Breakdown's blue chassis and, for a moment, he thought he saw Breakdown limp._

" _Bumblebee!" Breakdown shouted, his voice drilling through the shrill buzz in his audials._

_Slowly, mechanically, Bumblebee tilted his helm towards Breakdown. "Yes?"_

" _Follow me!" Breakdown shouted, servo pointing down a partially destroyed hallway. "I'm going to get you out of here, Bumblebee!"_

" _What happened?" Bumblebee asked Breakdown as the large mech stared down at him._

" _The building was bombed, but we don't have time to chat!" Breakdown snapped and, without warning, picked up Bumblebee and ran down the hallway._

_Bumblebee felt waves of nausea course through his chassis as Breakdown skidded down hallways and leapt over fallen supports and parts of the building's ceiling. As they moved, Bumblebee did not fail to notice what remained of s light blue and pink Cybertronian._

_Suddenly, Breakdown skidded to a halt, a vent of fear escaping his mouth that snapped Bumblebee's gaze to the front._

" _Scrap," Breakdown swore and Bumblebee, whose processor had finally begun to clear, agreed. The two had come to a dead end; the hallway covered entirely by fallen debris._

_Fuming, Breakdown whipped around and, before he moved another step, froze. Bumblebee wiggles in Breakdown's grasp, glancing around to see what had stopped Breakdown._

_But he saw nothing. "What are you staring at Breakdown?"_

_Breakdown didn't answer and, without a single note of warning, dropped Bumblebee to the ground. Bumblebee scrambled and gasped as his chassis by the floor, recovering quickly to leap to his pedes._

" _What was that for?" He snapped, his anger turning to ice the moment he saw the fear in Breakdown's optics._

_Breakdown looked down at Bumblebee and, with a note of terror high in his voice, said, "RUN!"_

_Bumblebee's optics widened and, without a second thought, bolted back down the hallway he and Breakdown had just come down. Breakdown thundered after him, both running as fast as they could through the destroyed hallway._

_But neither got far. A sudden_ boom _, much louder than anything Bumblebee had heard, hit his optics with immediate force. A shockwave threw him forward, something shoved him to the ground, heat blazed over him, sudden weight pushed at him-_

"Hey, Bee?"

Smokescreen's voice snapped Bumblebee out of his memories with a horrified, shuddering jolt. In the week since he had recovered from his injuries incurred by the Senate building bombing, Bumblebee had been plagued by visions of the bombing.

"Yes, Smokescreen, What is it?" Bumblebee grumbled, optics shifting to the closed door of his room where Smokescreen's voice was coming from.

"Ultra Magnus just contacted us. He said he is coming here and he wants to talk with you," Smokescreen said. "Not sure about what though."

"Very well," Bumblebee muttered. "I'll be down in the main room momentarily."

"I will inform Magnus," Smokescreen said then, with the sound of pedes shifting, walked away from the door.

Bumblebee shook himself of his thoughts as he strode to his pedes, vents hissing as he walked out of his room and into the hallway. With a shaky exvent, Bumblebee hurried down the hallway towards the main room.

It only took Bumblebee a few klicks to reach the main room, and it was to his surprise that he saw all of Team Prime - Arcee, Ratchet, Knock Out, Smokescreen and Breezedrift -  _and_ Wheeljack and Bulkhead gathered.

"Wheeljack? Bulkhead? Why are you two here?" Bumblebee asked as he approached the group.

"Ultra Magnus told us to meet here," Bulkhead explained with a shrug. Wheeljack gave a curt nod then looked away from Bumblebee, the white Wrecker unable to hide the rage that burned in his blue optics.

No one had missed how Wheeljack had changed since Breakdown had died, the joking, light hearted ness now replaced by a quiet, simmering fury. Bumblebee couldn't help but feel like Wheeljack disliked him; Bumblee wasn't sure he knew  _why_ Wheeljack had become so uncharacteristically polite to him.

"Is Ultra Magnus here yet?" Bumblebee asked Arcee in an attempt to calm the tension in his spark.

"Not just yet," Arcee said with shake of her helm. "Though he did reiterate that he wants to meet all of us outside."

Bumblebee raised an optic ridge then shrugged his shoulder plates. "If that is what he wants, then that is what we must do."

"Hopefully it is good news for once," Wheeljack snapped as Bumblebee headed towards the front entrance, the rest of Team Prime and the two Wreckers following closely behind him.

The eight Cybertronians came to a halt a few steps outside of Team Prime Headquarters main entrance, Bumblebee casting his gaze about in search of Ultra Magnus. A few klicks later Bumblebee noticed Ultra Magnus's alt driving towards them, the hiss of brakes followed closely by Ultra Magnus transforming out of his alt mode.

"Greetings, Ultra Magnus," Bumblebee greeted, helm bowing respectfully towards his - superior didn't work anymore, so maybe friend?

Ultra Magnus returned Bumblebee's greeting then looked towards the others gathered beside Bumblebee. "Greetings, everyone."

"Yeah, whatever," Wheeljack growled. "Why did you call us together."

"I come with good news," Ultra Magnus said, seemingly unfettered by Wheeljack's abrasive tone.

"Good news? About what?" Knock Out asked, a note of hopefulness unmistakable in his words.

"We have found and arrested the Senate Bomber," Ultra Magnus said simply.

"Who was it?" Wheeljack snarled, servos clenching as he glared at Ultra Magnus.

"Iceblaze," Ultra Magnus growled, his optics narrowing ever so slightly.

"No way," Bumblebee breathed, stunned by Ultra Magnus's revelation. The others seemed to be in agreement with Bumblebee for he heard Arcee, Smokescreen and Breezedrift gasp in horror, Bulkhead and Knock Out growl under their breaths and Ratchet and Wheeljack snarl openly.

"How did you find her?" Ratchet asked with deadly calm.

"Because of him," Ultra Magnus said, servo pointing straight up to the sky. A moment later, Bumblebee heard the roar of a jet engine and then, with a heavy  _thud_ , Dreadwing landed beside Ultra Magnus.

"Dreadwing?" Ratchet breathed, shock pulsing off his chassis.

Dreadwing turned his helm towards Ratchet, his red optics unreadable as always. The blue Seeker seemed to be analyzing the group and, for reasons unknown to Bumblebee, Dreadwing's gaze lingered for a moment longer on him than anyone else.

"Dreadwing captured Iceblaze, questioned her and, when she admitted to bombing the Senate building, he brought her to me," Ultra Magnus explained.

"What if Iceblaze is lying?" Smokescreen asked, optics shifting towards Dreadwing warily.

"Yeah, how can you be sure Iceblaze wasn't lying?" Bulkhead added.

"She did lie," Dreadwing said, "But I forced her to show me the truth."

"How?" Arcee asked nervously.

Dreadwing glanced down at Arcee, then let out a humorless snort from his vents. "I took her to Vortex. He pulled the information from her mind through his Cortical Psychic Patch. She could not lie with Vortex having full rein off her thoughts

"Vortex?" Arcee questioned. "Who is Vortex?"

"One of the Combaticons. He enjoys interrogating unwilling Cybertronians," Dreadwing said dismissively.

Bumblebee shot a concerned glance to Arcee then turned to Dreadwing. "We thank you, Dreadwing, for finding Iceblaze. Now we can seek justice for those that were lost, or injured, in the bombing."

"I can bring you the data Vortex acquired from Iceblaze's rout with the Cortical Psychic Patch," Dreadwing offered, optics narrowing as he focused on Bumblebee. "But, for the data, I wish to be present at Iceblaze's trial."

"Of course, Dreadwing. We will need you at the trial anyways, so that you can offer the court what you have told us," Bumblebee explained.

Dreadwing gave Bumblebee a scrutinizing look then bowed his helm respectfully. Bumblebee turned to Ultra Magnus, rage pumping through his fuel lines as he snarled, "Ultra Magnus, inform our court that tomorrow we are going to trial. Iceblaze has gotten away with what she did for  _far_ too long.  _That_ ends tomorrow."

"I will do so  _gladly_ ," Ultra Magnus replied, optics narrowing as he transformed into his alt mode and roared away.

Bumblebee watched Ultra Magnus leave then turned to Dreadwing. "Please get me the data Vortex acquired from Iceblaze. We will need it, if we wish for the court to find her guilty."

Dreadwing gave Bumblebee a curt nod then backed and, with a roar of his engine, transformed and blasted away from Bumblebee and the others. Once Dreadwing was out of sight, Bumblebee turned to the others, gaze stopping on the two Wreckers first.

"Once I receive word from Ultra Magnus about the trial, I will contact both of you."

"Understood," Bulkhead said as, with a hard nudge to Wheeljack's chest plate, the green Wrecker transformed into his alt mode and drove away. Wheeljack watched Bumblebee for a few more moments then followed after Bulkhead.

With those two gone, Bumblebee turned to the members of Team Prime. "Same goes for all of you. Also, I want all of you at the trial tomorrow, whenever that will be."

"We will," Arcee assured.

Bumblebee nodded to the five Team Prime members then transformed into his alt mode and raced off towards the Iacon Hall of Justice.

* * *

Dreadwing's servos tapped against his arms impatiently. He had been waiting outside Team Prime's headquarters for what seemed like  _groons_. While Dreadwing had never been the kind to fall to impatience, for once he could not help but let his impatience be known as he waited for Bumblebee and his team to walk out of their headquarters.

Finally, Dreadwing heard the unmistakable sound of the building's front doors opening and quickly turned to see Bumblebee and the rest of his team, including the two Wreckers, walk out of the building. Bumblebee noticed Dreadwing and, with a start of his engine, ran up to Dreadwing, servo flicking out a large disk.

"Thank you, Dreadwing. This disk, with Vortex's data, will serve us well in today's trial," Bumblebee said fervently, optics unusually bright as he looked towards Dreadwing.

Dreadwing said nothing to Bumblebee in response, servos still tapping at his crossed arms as he looked down at Bumblebee. Bumblebee seemed to realize Dreadwing's irritation towards him and quickly ducked his helm, muttering an apology before turning to his friends and signaling them to follow him.

Dreadwing snapped into his alt mode and took off, hovering over Bumblebee and the others as they transformed into their respective alt modes. Bumblebee took point, leading the group towards Iacon's Hall of Justice. Dreadwing shot after Bumblebee and his friends, watching each closely as the seven vehicles weaved through the early morning traffic.

It only took Bumblebee's group a few klicks to reach the large, imposing Hall of Justice, Dreadwing maneuvering down to land out of his alt mode next to Bumblebee. His optics turned warily, narrowing on the mass of reporters, all with their cameras pointed towards him and Bumblebee.

"Reporters," Arcee muttered as she strode up next to Dreadwing, "hate them."

"Got to live with them," Smokescreen joked, though Dreadwing did not miss the nervous way Smokescreen shifted closer to Arcee as he said that.

Dreadwing ignored Bumblebee's friends and marched past the reporters, striding through the open doors of the Hall of Justice. As he stepped into the Hall, Dreadwing could feel a buzz of anticipation and nervousness in the air. He strode past Cybertronians of varying sizes and factions, stopping only when he heard one voice.

"That's Dreadwing." The voice was almost reverent, and drew Dreadwing's attention to his right where a group of Cybertronians were staring - optics wide as suns - directly at him.

"Wasn't he the one who exposed Radiance's corrupt government?"

"Yeah, it was him, Leader Bumblebee and the Wrecker, Breakdown."

"Didn't that Breakdown guy die because of the bombing?"

"Yes," Dreadwing snarled, his words startling the group of young Cybertronians.

"Oh, uh," one of the mechs - a dark blue flyer - stammered. "We didn't realize you were listening in. Sorry, Dreadwing."

Dreadwing rolled his optics in response then, noticing Bumblebee and his friend's heading towards him, turned to the leader of Cybertron.

"Are you ready for this Bee?" Bulkhead asked Bumblebee as Dreadwing rejoined their group.

"Yes, I am," Bumblebee said with utter confidence, servos clenching as he led Dreadwing and the others to a large set of doors. Bumblebee pushed open the doors and walked into the bowl-like courtroom.

Dreadwing followed Bumblebee as the yellow and black mech walked up to the head of the courtroom. A row of seats sat empty next to Bumblebee's own and, with a sharp signal from Bumblebee, Dreadwing knew the seats were for him and Bumblebee's team. With his optics scanning the quickly filling courtroom, Dreadwing sat on one of the chairs, arms crossing over his chest plate as he waited.

It took a few klicks for the rest of the courtroom to fill up, the noise in the room increasing in volume as the Senate, Cabinet, jury, and court officials settled into their seats. Once all of the room had been filled, Bumblebee signaled for quiet with a wave of one servo, an ensuing hush a great contrast to the ruckus nanoseconds before.

"Everyone," Bumblebee began, "I understand this meeting was of abrupt notice, but I have due reason to call all of you to this urgent meeting. Just yesterday, I was informed by Ultra Magnus that we had found the Senate Bomber."

"What? How?" Voices exclaimed in a loud clamor around the room, Bumblebee silencing them with another wave of his servo.

"They were brought to Ultra Magnus by Dreadwing," Bumblebee explained, servo indicating Dreadwing, who straightened up slightly as every optic in the room turned in his direction. "This is a full trial today, as all of you were informed last night."

At this, Ultra Magnus rose from where he had been seated and turned his gaze towards a set of small doors opposite from the doors Dreadwing and the others had entered through. "We shall now commence the trial against Iceblaze, accused with the bombing of the Iacon Senate two weeks ago."

A moment after Ultra Magnus said that, two Elite Guards walked through the small doors, the jet-black form of Iceblaze between them. The two guards led Iceblaze to the middle of the trial floor, strabbing her arms into large energon braces before they both backed away. Iceblaze shot a glare in Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus's direction, but the one she sent Dreadwing was fueled with pure malice. Dreadwing returned her glare with a mere, passive look that belied that rage that simmered in his spark at the sight of the Cybertronian.

_I hope she pays for what she did to Breakdown and all the others that died in the bombing. Whatever she is served will never make up for what she did, for the lives she took and ruined, but at least it will be something_ , Dreadwing thought to himself.

"Iceblaze, you are here today in Iacon's Hall of Justice due to the actions you have committed against Cybertron and its people," Bumblebee announced, optics turning down to stare directly at Iceblaze. The jet let out a snort of derision at Bumblebee's words.

"I figured as such," Iceblaze snarled sarcastically, "but please,  _indicate_ me. This will be  _fun_."

"Very well," Bumblebee said, an air of irritation edging at his words as Cybertron's leader began laying out the details of the bombing.

Dreadwing watched as the trial moved on, noting which members of the court asked Iceblaze questions and which stayed quiet, how all reacted to her responses until one member of the court stood and looked towards Bumblebee.

"How do we know Iceblaze is the culprit of the bombing? You have laid out no evidence to state that she is and, to all intents and purposes, it has been well documented that her time in incarceration last time changed her. I highly doubt Iceblaze would commit an act that killed and injured as many Autobots as it did."

Bumblebee shot the Cybertronian a hard glare then gave a vent and a shake of his helm. "We know that Iceblaze  _is_ the bomber because she admitted as much, Peacecode" he growled, turning to a diminutive Cybertronian sitting to his left. "Play the recording."

The small mech nodded and tapped a large stereo, which let out a sharp screech of static before it began to play. Dreadwing immediately recognized the voice of Vortex as the recording he had received from Vortex began to play.

" _So, Iceblaze, as you have already deduced, your every thought is open to my viewing. There is no hiding_ anything  _from me."_

" _And what would I be hiding, Vortex? I have_ nothing  _to hide. I have no idea why Dreadwing would bring me to_ you  _of all Cybertronians-"_

"Who is this talking?" Peacecode interrupted, servo flicking towards the quickly paused stereo.

"The first voice is Vortex. Dreadwing knows him and knew that Vortex could procure the information from Iceblaze," Bumblebee explained, optics sharpening as he glared across at Peacecode. "Now, silence, and listen to the rest of the recording."

" _Oh, Iceblaze, it is pointless to lie and hide the truth from me. I will know_ everything  _much faster than can believe."_

" _Get out of my mind,"_ Iceblaze snapped, her voice remarkably clear through the radio.

" _I will, soon. Not yet though. Now, let us see what you have hiding in your processor."_

Now the recording only picked up sounds and mutters from Vortex until, finally, Vortex let out a triumphant exclamation. " _Here we are."_

As Vortex's synthetic voice finished his words, a holographic display of all of the data and information Vortex had found in Iceblaze's processor expanded in the entirety of the courtroom.

"Your evidence is all  _here_ ," Bumblebee growled, jerking his servo towards the holographic image displaying Iceblaze's plans, bomb schematics and much more. "Iceblaze is, even by her own admission to Ultra Magnus under oath, the bomber."

There was complete and utter silence in the courtroom for quite a few klicks until, with the sound like roaring fire, every voice exploded inside the courtroom.

"Murderer!"

"You killed my  _friend_!"

"Prosecute this piece of slag!"

But the voice that stood out most of all, though only loud enough for a few to hear, was Wheeljack's, who was muttering to Bulkhead next to Dreadwing. "That  _thing_ killed Breakdown and nearly killed Bumblebee. We lost some of our  _Wreckers_  because of her! If someone doesn't offline her, I  _will_."

"You know you can't do that, Jackie!" Bulkhead hissed. "You would be jailed for it and killing her will do nothing to bring Breakdown or our students back."

"I don't care," Wheeljack snarled venomously. "I just want  _revenge_."

"SILENCE!" Ultra Magnus suddenly boomed, his words snapping the room into utter quiet. "Leader Bumblebee wishes to speak."

Bumblebee stepped forward once more, optics turning down to Iceblaze. "Do you have anything to say, Iceblaze?"

"Yeah," Iceblaze laughed. "Those that died? I'm glad they did. I'm just bummed more didn't die."

Gasps of shock rippled through the air at Iceblaze's admission, which she seemed to revel in as she stared up at Bumblebee with a smug look.

Bumblebee narrowed his optics in turn then turned to look around the entire courtroom. "I now request that the decision be made for Iceblaze. Court officials, you have a  _groon_ to decide."

The court officials all looked at each other and hurried out of the room leaving the rest of the room to explode with noise. Dreadwing turned his helm towards Bumblebee, who was still staring down at Iceblaze with focused intensity.

"Bumblebee?" Dreadwing nudged Bumblebee gently, helm tilting when Bumblebee startled in surprise. "Are you alright, Bumblebee?"

"Yes, yes," Bumblebee muttered, "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"I see," Dreadwing said slowly, a feeling of unease hooking into his spark as he watched Bumblebee.

Finally, at preciously a  _groon_ after Bumblebee had sent them away, the court officials returned to their seats. Bumblebee turned to the members and signaled of their leader to stand and speak. With a deep exvent, the court leader - a former Decepticon - stepped forward and pulled out a datapad.

"We, the court jury, judge and officials, have determined that a sentencing of ten  _vorns_ to solitary confinement shall be due punishment for Iceblaze's act."

"Ten  _vorns_?!" Wheeljack snapped, though he kept his tone measured so only a few could hear him. "She deserves worse."

And the rest of the Cybertronians in the courtroom seemed to agree for they began to clamor and shout obscenities towards the court officials and Iceblaze.

"That's nothing!"

"She deserves harsher treatment!"

"Just offline her!"

"It should be a  _thousand vorns_ , not  _ten_!"

The whole time the members of the Senate and court argued, Dreadwing watched Iceblaze's expression turn ever more smug. A jagged, cruel smile split across her faceplate as she watched the Cybertronians argue and scramble against each other, wing kibble stuttering with a quiet laugh.

"Ten  _vorns_ is enough punishment!"

"But her actions killed  _fifty-six_ Cybertronians! And injured an innumerable more! Ten  _vorns_ is  _not_ enough!"

The shouting in the room was interrupted by a sudden loud - and unmistakable - sound of a blaster firing and then a strangled gasp. Dreadwing's gaze snapped to Iceblaze, who staggered, her servo clutching her chest plate, which had a huge, gaping hole in it. Energon leaked from her wound as Iceblaze looked up in Dreadwing's gaze, locking onto the figure to Dreadwing's left at the same time as every other set of optics turned to the mech standing on Dreadwing's left.

Bumblebee, with smoke hissing from his servo guns, glared down at Iceblaze and, with a snap of his servos, transformed each out of their blaster alts. As he did so, Iceblaze collapsed forward, the energon binders holding her chassis in place so it did not hit the floor.

"Trial adjourned," Bumblebee snarled before any mech could even utter a word and, with a final glare down at Iceblaze's body, the leader of Cybertron walked out of the courtroom.

* * *

_280 Years ACR…_

" _Found anything of interest today, Dreadwing?"_  Bulkhead asked over Dreadwing's commlink, startling the Seeker out of his thoughts.

"No," Dreadwing said coolly as he walked down the busy street, optics shifting over the mass of Cybertronians pushing past him. A year after the Senate bombing, Dreadwing had voluntarily joined Bumblebee's Cabinet as an advisor. He had started a special Seeker Academy within the Wrecker program and, thus, had joined with Wheeljack and Bulkhead as one of the Wreckers. It was an odd prospect to him sometimes, but he did actually enjoy his job.

" _Well, good luck on the rest of your patrol, Dreadwing! See you tonight!"_ Bulkhead answered and, with a quiet click, cut the communications between the two.

Dreadwing rolled his optics then continued walking through the crowd. He was nearly done with his patrol shift, something Bumblebee had enacted after the Senate bombing - the leader usually reasoned that he didn't like the streets being unpatrolled for so long - and it was a duty the Wreckers and Cybertronian enforcement shared.

Dreadwing was walking past a row of sellar stands when he thought he felt a brush of metal clip across his back and then nothing. Stopping, Dreadwing turned to his left, optics searching the crowd for whatever had touched him.

_Maybe it was just a- Wait, there!_ Dreadwing spotted a flash of blue streaking through the crowd, carrying  _his gun-_ sword.

Without a second thought, Dreadwing transformed into his alt and shot after whoever had stolen his gun-sword, engine thrumming with fury. No one stole his possessions and got away with it.

He banked sharply when the small Cybertronian shot down an alley, but the thief had miscalculated and stopped in a dead-ending alley. Dreadwing flew down to the alley entrance and transformed out of his alt, optics narrowing on the Cybertronian holding his sword.

The Cybertronian was of a smaller than average stature though, by how he cowered against the alley wall, the mech seemed even smaller than normal. The mech had bright yellow optics, blue-purple legs, shoulder plates, a white chest plate and ruddy-colored faceplate. His arms had large, spiked vambraces, mainly white in color though a stripe of blue-purple ran down the entirety of the vambrace. His servos were clawed and colored with the same ruddy tone of his faceplate. His shoulder plates housed two Cybertronian designed wheels and five spokes - parts of his engine - provided steady protection to the small mech's helm from his back. His faceplate was bordered by a blue protective covering that ended, at the top of his helm, in two sharp points.

"Why did you steal my weapon?" Dreadwing asked, his voice calm though fury burned through his fuel lines.

The small mech cowered and shivered, unable to say anything for the pitiful rattling of his chassis. Dreadwing snarled and stomped straight up to the mech, glaring down at the young mech as he snatched his gun-sword from the servos of the mech.

"Please," the mech begged, "don't hurt me. I- I- I-."

"I'm not going to hurt you,  _mech_ , but I do question why you would want to steal  _my_ gun-sword," Dreadwing hissed. The young mech shuddered and promptly collapsed to the ground, servos clutching at his helm as he began to mutter under his breath. Dreadwing tilted his helm, slightly feeling sorry for the young mech as he watched the Cybertronian quiver and shake, in a complete wreck of nerves.

"I'm  _not_ going to harm you," Dreadwing restarted with a light roll of his optics. "Please though, do answer me. What did you think stealing my weapon would do?"

The young mech looked up at Dreadwing fearfully, yellow optics wide and filled with complete terror. "I was just looking for something to sell," the mech admitted quickly. "I'm hungry…"

Dreadwing raised an optic ridge as he looked at the mech, only then realizing how underfueled and dull the mech seemed. His optics were dull and the purple biolights on his arms, back and chest plate seemed to glow almost lifelessly. Venting, Dreadwing shook his helm, muttering under his breath.

"Here," Dreadwing growled, "come with me. I can get you refueled and checked over. Then, I will forget this happened and let you go on your merry way."

"Uh," the mech stuttered, "I- I- I don't know…"

"I'm not giving you a choice," Dreadwing growled. Before the young mech could react, Dreadwing transformed into his alt and, with careful precision, jerked the mech onto the back of his alt.

"Oh Primus," the mech squeaked as Dreadwing let out a roar of his engine and burst away from the ground, turning his heading towards Team Prime's headquarters.

"Hold on," Dreadwing warned before he poured on a rapid burst of speed and shot away from the street with tremendous speed. It only took Dreadwing a few moments to reach Team Prime's headquarters though, by the amount of squeaking and rattling from the young mech, it had felt like a three  _groon_ long journey.

Dreadwing hovered to the ground gently, allowing the young mech to slide off his alt before Dreadwing transformed out of his alt mode and put a tight grip on the mech's arm.

"You're coming with me," Dreadwing snapped, yanking the mech up the stairs and to the door of the headquarters. A small call box, fixed to the wall near the locked doors, came online when Dreadwing approached, a chipper voice welcoming him to Team Prime's Headquarters.

"Dreadwing. I would like to see Ratchet. I have a patient for him," Dreadwing told the device and then waited.

A few nanoseconds later, the call box lit up and sparked. "Ratchet will see you in his medical bay. He said to take the elevator to Level E."

"Thank you," Dreadwing said, optics turning to watch the door slid open. With another purposeful yank to the young mech's arm, Dreadwing - practically - drug the mech to the elevators, tapping a button to summon the elevator to his level.

Once the elevator reached where Dreadwing was and the doors opened, Dreadwing gave the mech beside him a push forward and walked into the elevator. The elevator doors closed as Dreadwing tapped the Level E button. Once the elevator began its ascent, Dreadwing turned to the young mech beside him.

The mech was shaking in utter terror, optics zooming around the enclosed space of the elevator. He seemed to bite at his servos as the elevator continued to ascend higher, and his engine let out small splutters of noise every moment.

"Calm down," Dreadwing said towards the mech. "You aren't in trouble and we aren't going to hurt you."

The mech looked towards Dreadwing disbelievingly then jolted when the elevator stopped its ascent and the doors opened.

"Come," Dreadwing vented, servo nudging against the mech's backstrut softly. The young mech looked towards Dreadwing then walked out of the elevator, helm snapping around as he glanced down the long hallway. Dreadwing pushed the mech forward and walked up to a set of doors marked with the Cybertronian medical symbol.

"Ratchet? Its Dreadwing. I've got some half-starved mech who needs a check up," Dreadwing announced with a heavy vent, gaze shifting to the young mech beside him.

A few moments passed then the door opened, Ratchet standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest plate as he appraised the young mech. "Come in, both of you," Ratchet said with a roll of his optics.

Dreadwing pushed the mech through the doorway as Ratchet turned into the medical bay, then shut the door behind him after he had pushed the young mech all the way into the medical room.

"Who is this?" Ratchet immediately asked as he lowered the shivering mech to a medical slab and began scanner his chassis.

"No idea," Dreadwing said with a shrug."He tried to steal my gun-sword and I chased him into an alleyway. I realized he was lacking in fuel and figured you could check him over before we let him go."

"Hmm,' Ratchet muttered, "very well."

"Don't hurt me," the young mech squeaked pitifully, his engine giving off a strange, high-pitched whine. Ratchet smacked the mech over his helm when he heard the whine, optics narrowing furiously.

"Don't you  _dare_ shut down my equipment with your engine vibrations," Ratchet snarled, the anger in his voice causing the young mech to become frozen in fear.

"Breathe," Dreadwing added, "Ratchet isn't going to hurt you. He's trying to  _help_ you."

The young mech looked towards Dreadwing and, for a second - a  _second_ \- Dreadwing thought he saw  _something_ flash through the mech's yellow optics - something that wasn't fear, wasn't nervousness, but something more akin to -  _no, I was just imagining it_.

"So, mech, where are your parents?" Ratchet asked as he finished scanning the young mech's chassis and began rummaging through various cabinets on the wall nearest the young mech.

"Uh," the young mech stuttered, "I never had parents-"

Ratchet snapped his gaze to the young mech, optics narrowing as the young mech looked towards him nervously. "You mean, you were created from the Well of the Allspark?"

"Maybe? I'm not sure, really,' the young mech admitted with a nervous shrug, "I only remember waking alone. I've been on my own since I was- born?"

Ratchet shot Dreadwing a questioning look, then turned back to the young mech. "How long have you been online?"

"Uh, half a  _vorn_? Maybe?"

"So you're forty years old," Ratchet muttered. "Interesting. We don't see many Cybertronians that are created by the Well. You're rare."

"I don't want to be rare, I don't like standing out," the mech spluttered fearfully.

Ratchet vented and shook his helm, his optics softening as he looked down at the nervous, twitching mech. "I can tell. Now, what did you say your name was again?"

"Uh," the mech's optics widened as he stared at Dreadwing and Ratchet nervously. "I didn't."

"Then what is it?" Dreadwing asked, "because I prefer not calling someone 'mech' all the time."

"Oh, uh, my name's Breakdown."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end. 
> 
> But there will, very likely, be a sequel.


End file.
